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PHILOLOGICAL PROOFS 




UNITY AND RECENT ORIGIN 



UMAN RACE 



1)1. Kl\ II) KIIOM 



ARISON OF THE LAN^SpES p £ 



SUta, dftirope, Stfrira, aitfi 3mer 




BEING AN IKQUIB1 HON l\H Till. DIFFERENCES IN Till: LANGUAGES OF 
THE GLOBE ARE ELEFEKBXBLE TO I LU8BS WOW IN nl'KUATION. 



AltTIIVR JAMES JOHNES, ESQ. 

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Z161 or avw 



iiu^uam (pnmaDvam) He: dicunfc Syri auam, Veriua 

ntur primaovam linguam nullitn puram extare, sed reliquiae ejus 

(.koi m*-—Atmet. Genet, w 



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AR 30 bi/ 



LONDON : 

JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 

1. OLD COMPTON STREET. SOIIO SQUARE. 



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1846 



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TO 

LADY HALL OF LLANOVER. 



My Lady, 

This volume has been published in consequence of 
the following opinion expressed by Dr. Prichard 
on an Essay written by the Author for a National 
Society, in whose proceedings your Ladyship takes a 
lively interest : 

:t This Essay contains very valuable matter, which 
" I trust we shall hereafter see in print/' 

Notwithstanding the deference which I consider 
due to the sentiments of so eminent an authority, 
had I committed to the press, without revision, the 
hastily-written Essay to which he was thus pleased to 
refer, I might have conformed to the letter, but I 
should have violated the spirit of this very nattering 
recommendation. Instead of so doing, I have availed 
myself of such intervals of leisure as I have been able 



Vlll CONTENTS. 



PLAN OF THIS INVESTIGATION. 



THE ORIGIN AND CHANGES OF HUMAN LANGUAGES. 



CHAPTER I. 

ON THE EVIDENCE FURNISHED BY A COMPARISON OF 
THEIR LANGUAGES OF THE ORIGINAL UNITY OF THE 
VARIOUS NATIONS OF THE CONTINENTS OF ASIA, 
EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 

Absolute Identity of the Languages of the Four Continents when 
compared collectively. Illustrations from the Names of the Gods of 
Egypt, Greece, Italy, and India, showing the Origin of Idolatry, 
North American Indian Names for the "Great Spirit" . . 5 



CHAPTER II. 

ON THE DIFFERENCES WHICH DISTINGUISH INDIVIDUAL 
LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 

Section I. — These differences principally caused by the abandon- 
ment, 1, of the different Synonymes; 2, of different meanings 
of the same Synonymes . . .26 

Section II. — On the Differences between the Celtic and Gothic 
Classes of Languages. The Celtic and Gothic differ almost 
totally in the most Common Words. Celtic and Gothic words 
identical with Persian Synonymes . . . ib. 

Section III. — On the Changes which have taken place in the 
English Language. Effect of the Norman Conquest, as a 
Cause of these Changes exaggerated. Dr. Johnson's Opinion. 
Sir Walter Scott's. Speech of " Wamba" in Ivanhoe. Some 
of the most important Changes have occurred since the time of 
Chaucer. The modern English, the Provincial Dialects of 
Lancashire and other English Counties, and the Lowland 
Scotch, different Fragments of the Anglo-Saxon. The Pro- 
vincial English Auxiliary Verb, ■ I Bin,' &c. . . 29 



CONTENTS. ix 



Section IV. — On the Scandinavian Languages. Resemblances be- 
tween the Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon. Recent Origin and 
extensive Nature of the Differences among the Icelandic, 
Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian Tongues. Approximation 
of the Ancient Specimens of the Scandinavian and Teutonic 
Languages . . . , .41 

Section V.— The Origin of the Irish Nation. The original Language 
of the British Isles was a Union of Welsh and Irish. Union of 
the Irish, Welsh, &c. in the ancient Local Names in the Celtic 
Countries of Gaul, &c. These Names a connecting Link be- 
tween the existing Celtic Dialects and the Oriental, Greek, 
and other Languages, &c. . . . .49 

Section VI.— Summary of the Results deducible from the previous 
Sections. The Changes which have occurred in the English, 
Scandinavian, and Celtic Languages, sufficient to account for 
the Differences among all Human Tongues. Causes which give 
rise to the Abandonment and specific Appropriation of Syno- 
nymes. Total Differences of Grammatical Forms no Proof of 
a fundamental Difference of Language. The Relation which 
the Languages of one Continent, viewed in the aggregate, 
bear to the individual Languages of such Continent, the same 
as that which the Ancient Scandinavian bears to its derivative 
Dialects, &c. Incipient Changes in the Language of Australia. 87 



CHAPTER III. 



ON THE ORIGIN OP SYNONYMES. 



Section I. — First Source of Synonymes the Metaphorical Character 
of Human Language in its Infancy. Even modern Languages 
metaphorical or descriptive, as regards the Names of Substances 
recently known to Man. Progressive Change from a metapho- 
rical to a conventional Character displayed by more Modern 
compared to more Ancient Languages. Illustration from the 
Sanscrit Words for ' The Sun' . . . .94 



CONTENTS. 



Section II. — Second Source of Synonymes. Imitative Origin of the 
Elements of Human Language. Imitative Character of Ancient 
Languages. Imitative Origin of Language consistent with 
the Unity of the Human Race. Supported by Analogy. 
Adam Smith's Opinion that the first Elements of Language 
were Nouns considered. Progress of Language in Infancy. 
Illustration, from Campbell's Hohenlinden, of the Influence of 
the Imitative Faculty on the Imagination. Progressive Growth 
of Language. Important Exception to the Principle of the 
Imitative Origin of Language. Origin of the Harsh and 
Open Sounds of Ancient Languages . . . .99 

Section III. — Application of these Conclusions to the Question of the 

Unity of the Human Race . . . .109 

Section IV. — Recent Origin of the Human Race . .110 



CHAPTER IV. 



ON THE ORIGINAL IDENTITY OF THE ENGLISH, WELSH, 
HINDOOS, AND OTHER NATIONS CLASSED AS INDO- 
EUROPEAN WITH THE JEWS, ARABIANS, ETC. 

Sir William Jones's Opinion that the Languages and Reli- 
gions of these two Classes of Nations are quite distinct. The 
Names of the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India significant 
in the Hebrew. Arts brought by the Ancestors of the Euro- 
pean Nations from the East. Names of Fermented Liquors. 
Arts of the Pastoral State. Words for Butter, &c. Close 
Connexion of the Hebrew with the English. No specific dif- 
ference between the Semetic and Indo-European Tongues . 112 



CONTENTS. XI 



CHAPTER V. 



IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, 
AND OTHER BRANCHES OF THE HUMAN RACE. 



Section I. — Identity of the ancient Indian and Egyptian Mythology, 
&c. Names of the Egyptian Gods significant in the Hebrew 
and Indo-European Tongues. Dr. Lepsius's comments on 
Champollion's opinion that the Modern Egyptian does not differ 
from the Egyptian of the oldest Monuments. Proofs of Changes. 
Proofs from Language that the origin of the Egyptians cannot 
be referred to the very remote date fixed by some writers. 
Causes of the primitive features of the Hebrew and the Sanscrit. 
Identity of Sanscrit and Scriptural Account of the Creation and 
of the Origin of the Human Race. Sir William Jones's expla- 
nation of this coincidence. High antiquity of the Indian Vedas 125 

Section II. — High Antiquity of the Egyptian Nation. Interesting 
Character of Egyptian Remains. Extent of Egyptian Con- 
quests. Tartars, Parthians, Turks, &c Figures of Jews on 
Egyptian Monuments. Egyptian and Semetic Languages and 
Races connecting links between the Asiatic and African Lan- 
guages and Races . . . . .135 



CHAPTER VI. 



ON THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. 

High Antiquity of the Chinese Empire and Remains discredited by 
Sir William Jones and Adelung. But the Differences between 
the Chinese Language and those of Western Asia more ancient 
than the peculiarities which distinguish the African Languages 
from those of Europe and Western Asia. These Differences 
not fundamental. Identity of the Chinese with the Hebrew and 
with the English and other European Languages, &c . 14/ 



Xll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 

PAGE 

Identity of the American Tribes with the Nations of the other Conti- 
nents. High Mental and Moral qualities of the North Ame- 
rican Indians. Views of Cooper, Du Ponceau, and Catlin. 
Clear nature of the proofs derivable from Language of the 
Identity of the N. A, Indians with the European and Asiatic 
Nations. Catlin's views as to the Identity of the Mandans, a 
Tribe of N. A. Indians, with the Welsh. Union in the Dalects 
of the N. A. Indians, of Greek, and other Indo-European and 
Tartar Inflections, with the Pronouns of the Hebrew and the 
Welsh. Close Approximation of these Dialects to the Greek 
and other European Tongues, and to the Languages of the 
North of Europe and Asia . . . .155 



APPENDIX A. 

Analytical Comparison of some of the most important words in the 
African Languages with the Analogous Words in the Languages 
of Asia, Europe, and America 



APPENDIX B. 

Containing (arranged according to the Tribes and Regions of Africa) 
the African Words which are compared in Appendix A with 
the corresponding Terms in the Languages of Asia, Eu- 
rope, and America . ... .83 



APPENDIX C. 

Showing that the Celtic differ almost totally from the Gothic Lan- 
guages . . . . . .95 



<$ 



RECEIVED. v * 



INTRODUCTION 



ON THE CONNEXION OF THE CONCLUSIONS OF THIS 
WORK WITH HISTORY, SACRED AND PROFANE, AND 
WITH THE RESULTS OF SCIENCE. 



Interpretation of the Passage commented on by Grotius. Mr. 
LyeWs Geological Proofs of the Recent Origin of Man. 
Grounds of Ade lungs Opinion that Central Asia was the 
Birthplace of the Human Race. Its Central Position and 
High Elevation. Its Climate. It is the native Country of 
Domestic Animals. This View consiste?it with the Scrip- 
tural Narrative, and supported by ancient Indian Accounts. 
* Ararat" of Scripture not in Armenia. Monosyllabic and 
Polysyllabic Languages. Dr. Prichard on the Origin of 
different Races. The Dispersion of Mankind probably very 
rapid. Routes of Diffusion. Basques and Celts. Con- 
nexion of the Welsh with Negro Dialects. The Peopling 
of Islands. The Unity of the Human Species deduced 
from the Uniformity of the Moral, Mental, and Social 
Features of civilized and uncivilized Races. Egyptians 
and Negroes. Ancient Gauls and Modern French. Ten- 
dencies to Progression among Races yet uncivilized. The 
N. A. Indian Tribe the Mandans. Imperfection of Modern 
Civilization. The Siege of Genoa. The Hottentot Race. 

In commenting on a celebrated passage of Scripture, 
Grotius has adopted, with regard to the primitive language 
of mankind, the conclusion expressed on the title-page. 

" That Language the Hebrews say is the same as theirs — 
" the Syrians say it is the same as theirs. It may be as- 



XIV INTRODUCTION. 

" serted, with more truth, that the Primitive Language is 
" not extant in a pure state anywhere, but that its remains 
" exist in all languages !" 

Of the conclusion thus expressed by this celebrated writer 
— a conclusion dictated by the intuitive sagacity of a great 
mind — the facts developed in the following pages will be shown 
to be confirmatory. All existing languages, when viewed 
separately, are fragmentary and irregular. But when a wide 
and extensive comparison is instituted, the i disjecta membra' 
are found to reunite, and the irregularities to disappear ! 

Assuming the various languages of the Globe to have been 
derived from one Original Speech, it will be established that 
the formation of numerous distinct languages from that one 
Primitive Tongue admits of a complete explanation, by means 
of causes of which the agency can be traced within the range 
of the Historical era. The influence of those causes will be 
shown within a limited period of time to have produced dia- 
lects which display — not a destruction — but a dispersion of 
the elements of the Parent languages from which they are 
known to have arisen. In other words, these dialects manifest 
the same relative features as are exhibited by those languages 
which were formed anterior to the period of History. The 
only distinction is, that in the latter case the differences are 
more numerous and extensive — a result which is obviously a 
necessary consequenceof a longer period of time. 

Agreeably to an interpretation which has received very 
high sanction, the event described in the passage referred to 
in the title-page cannot be pronounced to have had any con- 
siderable share in the production of Human Languages, for, 
according to eminent authorities,* the changes thereby 

* See notes to D'Oyly and Mant's Bible. The differences, it is supposed, may 
have consisted in a different mode of pronouncing the same words, such as exists 
in various English counties, to a sufficient extent to make the speakers mutually 
unintelligible ! See, also, Eichhom's view. 



INTRODUCTION. XV 

caused probably consisted in mere Dialectic differences, not 
materially affecting the Words or Structure of Language. 
Moreover (it is inferred) the influence of that event did not 
extend to the whole Human Race, but merely to that small 
portion of it who were the ancestors of the Semetic or Syro- 
Phcenician nations. 

In these pages are embodied proofs, from Language, of 
the two following propositions : — 1. That the various nations 
of our Globe are descended from one Parent Tribe. 2. That 
the introduction of the Human Species into the system 
to which it belongs, cannot be referred to an epoch more 
ancient than the era indicated as the date of that event by 
our received systems of chronology. 

These propositions, of which the Philological evidence is 
developed in this volume, are supported not only by the tes- 
timony of History, Sacred and Profane, but also by the 
highest Scientific authorities. 

In Cuvier's theory of the Earth the date of the origin of 
our species is discussed, not only on Geological but also on 
Historical grounds, in a disquisition embracing an immense 
mass of learning on the subject of the supposed antiquity of 
the Chinese, Egyptians, and other nations who have laid 
claim to a very remote origin. These pretensions are rejected, 
and the date usually assigned to the origin of Man is adopted 
in this celebrated work. 

The same views have been expressed by Mr. Lyell ; views 
which he espouses, not merely as the result of his own 
reasonings, but of the prevalent conclusions of the highest 
geological authorities. 

" I need not dwell," he observes, " on the proofs of the 
" low antiquity of our species, for it is not controverted by 
" any experienced geologist ; indeed the real difficulty con- 
" sists in tracing back the signs of man's existence on the 
a earth to that comparatively modern period when species, 



XVI INTRODUCTION. 

< e now his contemporaries, began to predominate. If there 
" be a difference of opinion respecting the occurrence in 
" certain deposits of the Remains of Man, and his works, 
" it is always in reference to strata confessedly of the most 
ee modern order, and it is never pretended that our race co- 
u existed with assemblages of Animals and Plants, of which 
" all or even a great part of the species are extinct. From 
" the concurrent testimony of history and tradition we learn 
" that parts of Europe now the most fertile, and most com- 
" pletely subjected to the dominion of Man, were, less than 
" three thousand years ago, covered with forests, and the 
" abode of wild beasts. The archives of nature are in ac- 
" cordance with historical records, and when we lay bare the 
" most superficial covering of peat we sometimes find therein 
" the canoes of the savage, together with huge antlers of the 
" wild stag, or horns of the wild bull. In caves now open 
" to the day, in various parts of Europe, the bones of large 
" beasts of prey occur in abundance, and they indicate that 
" at periods comparatively modern in the history of the globe 
" the ascendancy of man, if he existed at all, had scarcely 
" been felt by the brutes." * 

(See an analogous argument of Berkeley for the Recent 
Origin of Man, quoted with approbation by Mr. Lyell, 
vol. iii. p. 203.) 

In what part of the Globe was the Human species first 
introduced ? On this interesting question various opinions 
have existed, and very opposite theories have been pro- 
pounded. Sir Humphry Davy t surmised that this locality 
must have been somewhere in or near the Tropics, in a cli- 
mate suited to the tender childhood of the Race. Sir William 
Jones fixed upon Persia or Iran.J Adelung has concluded 



* Lyell's Geology, vol. i. p. 230. t Consolations in Travel. 

X Discourse on the Origin and Families of Nations. 



INTRODUCTION. XV11 

in favour of a contiguous locality ; viz., the regions of the 
Indus, the borders of Cashmire and Tibet. It may be ob- 
served also that his grounds, in some respects, coincide with 
those adopted by Sir William Jones, who, after alluding to 
the extensive and, as he conceives, fundamental differences 
between the Languages of — 1, The Persians and Indians, 
Romans and Greeks, &c. ; 2, The Jews, Arabs, &c. ; 3, The 
people of China and Japan ; and 4, The Tartars — nations 
whom, nevertheless, he conceives to have descended from 
one pair — observes, " If, then, you consider the seats of 
u all the migrating nations as points in a surrounding figure, 
u you will perceive that the several rays, diverging from Iran, 
(i may be drawn to them without any intersection ; but this 
u will not happen, if you assume as a centre, Arabia or 
" Egypt ; India y Tartan/, or China : it follows that Iran, or 
u Persia (I contend for the meaning, not the name,) was the 
" central country which we sought." 

Adelung's* Dissertation on this subject, which, as he 
states, contains " the only hypothesis in which he has per- 
" mitted himself to indulge," is characterized by profound 
reasoning and graceful illustration. Considering their variety 
and extent, his proofs seem to be conclusive, especially when 
dissociated from the opinion which was entertained both by 
himself and Sir William Jones, viz., that the languages of 
the nations forming the diverging radii of migration are 
fundamentally different. Of these languages the original 
unity will be apparent, from the facts embodied in this work. 
Adelung's grounds for selecting the Central Asiatic regions 
of Cashmire and Tibet are — 1. Their Geographical position 
and high elevation, and the direction of their mountains and 
rivers, which render these countries a natural source for the 
diffusion of Population over the Globe. 2. Their Climate 

• Mithridates, vol. i. 



XV111 INTRODUCTION, 

and Natural productions. 3. The Ancient Indian accounts 
which are corroborated by the Scriptural narrative. 4. In 
these regions is the line which separates from other Asiatic 
races the nations who exhibit the Mongol or Tartar Physio- 
gnomy. 5. The same line separates the Monosyllabic and 
Polysyllabic Languages. 6. The Astronomical reasonings 
of Bailly. 

1. Geographically. 

Central Asia forms a natural centre for the diffusion of 
population over the Globe, as will appear from the following 
passages from an authority by whom Adelung's views have 
been adopted:* 

" Asia, exhibiting such characteristics in its outline, is no 
"less remrrkable for the form of its surface, on which the 
" climate, and consequently the vegetation and animal king- 
" dom, of its different parts must chiefly depend. In exa- 
" mining the other divisions of the globe, we find that 
" Australia exhibits level and comparatively low 7 countries 
a without many high mountain-ranges, as far as we yet know. 
u Africa is divided into two nearly equal parts, the southern 
"of which forms an almost uniform table-land, whilst the 
" northern, with the exception of the Atlas region, may be 
" considered as a lowland. Europe contains plains of small 
" extent lying between dispersed mountain-groups and ridges ; 
" but these plains are not confined to any particular parts. 
'■' In America the highest land lies on one side, occupying its 
" western coast from the extreme north to the south ; it forms 
" the most extensive system of mountain-chains on the globe, 
" which inclose within their arms elevated plateaus, but of 
" comparatively small extent. Asia exhibits different feature*. 
ec The whole mass of the interior continent rises to a conside- 

* Asia, by Carl Ritfer and others. 



INTRODUCTION. XIX 



" rable elevation above the sea, and this elevated mass, of which 
"the high table-lands occupy by far the greatest extent, is not 
"placed at one of the extremities of the whole mass, but occu- 
" pies its centre. 

" From these table-lands, which occupy the centre of Asia, 
" the surface descends in gradual and diversified terraces and 
" slopes to the lowlands which surround them." 

After stating that these table-lands consist of two terraces, 
(viz. an Eastern system, composed of Tibet and the Great 
Desert, called Gobi, and a Western terrace, including Iran 
or Persia,) which unite where the ranges of the Himalaya, 
Hindu-Kuh, Thsungling, and Belur Tagh meet, the same 
writer thus alludes to the regions which form the point of 
junction : 

u Such a juxta-position of all the great featur< ; which na- 
" ture exhibits on the surface of the globe, on such a colossal 
" scale, and in so limited a space, makes this one of the most 
" remarkable spots on the face of our planet. This maximum 
"of the contrasts of natural features, placed in the centre of 
"the continent, is the principal characteristic which distin- 
" guishes Asia. By drawing a circle with a radius of a few 
"hundred miles round this common centre, we comprehend 
" in it the countries of Cashmere, Sogdiana, and Cabulistan, 
" the ancient empires of Bactria, Delhi, and Samarcand, the 
" cold table-lands of Tibet, of Khotan, and of Kashgar, up 
" to the ancient Seres and Paropamisadae." 

Further, the same writer, after describing the immense va- 
riety of climate that occurs within this limited space, adds : 

" From the extremity of these table-lands, especially on 
"the south-east and north-east, south-west and north-west, 
" there issue several separate mountain-chains, not connected 
" with one another, but which form more or less a part of 

" the table-lands themselves. 

# * # * 



XX INTRODUCTION. 

"The valleys, which are produced by this indentation on the 
" borders of the table-lands, offer peculiar advantages for the 
* e progress of civilization. For, as we have already observed, 
" the highland of Asia does not sink on one side only, but on 
"all sides and towards every point of the compass; it also 
"sinks towards different oceans, which are separated from 
" the highland by extensive plains, varying greatly in mag- 
66 nitude and form. This circumstance, added to the valleys 
" formed by the indentations in the exterior margins of the 
" highlands, has given rise to numerous and most extensive 
" river systems, which, descending through the intervening 
" terraces, direct their winding course towards the north, 
" south, tvest, and east, and thus give to the distant internal 
"countries of this continent the advantage of an easy conunu- 
ce ni cation with the ocean." 

2. The Climate and Natural productions of Cashmire and 
Tibet. 

Influenced solely by its high elevation, De Pauw, Zimmer- 
man, and Pallas concluded that Central Asia must have been 
the birthplace of the human race. To this conclusion the 
rigorous climate of those parts of it which were best known 
to them appeared to present an insuperable objection. But 
as Adelung observes, those regions of Central Asia which 
border upon the Indus have been shown by the accounts of 
travellers to fulfil all the requisite conditions in this respect. 
Had these celebrated writers been possessed of the infor- 
mation these accounts contain, they might have discovered 
in Cashmire a suitable locality for the first abode of man, in 
Tibet a fitting school of discipline to prepare him for the 
various climes and countries he was destined to inhabit ! 

Cashmire. Adelung's description of this enchanting 
country calls to mind in many of its features the ■ Happy 
Valley' in Rasselas ! 



INTRODUCTION. XXI 

The faculties with which man has been endowed enable him 
to contend with the most unfavorable climes : but not until 
these faculties have been ripened by Time and experience ! 
At his first creation he required an abode where nature* s free 
bounty would supply all his wants ; in fine he needed, with 
reference even to his mere physical necessities, a Paradise ! 
To this appellation no country in Asia can assert a better 
claim than the lovely land of Cash mire, which is, in fact, a 
mere Valley, separated by inaccessible mountains from India, 
Persia, and Tibet ! Owing to its high elevation, the heat of 
the South is tempered into a perpetual Spring, and nature 
here puts forth all her powers to bring all her works, Plants, 
Animals, and Man, to the highest state of perfection ! 
Cashmire is a region of fruitful hills, countless fountains and 
streams, which unite in the River Behut, that, like the Pison 
of Paradise, " compasseth the whole land !" 

Bernier found here all Asiatic and European fruits in per- 
fection. The Pisang, undoubtedly the same tree as the fig 
tree of the Book of Genesis,* grows no where so large or so 
beautiful as in Cashmire ! 

Even the men of this country are distinguished among 
Asiatics by superior natural endowments, mental and physical. 
They have none of the Tartar physiognomy, but exhibit the 
finest features of the European race ; while in genius and in- 
telligence they surpass most other Oriental nations ! Cashmire 
was at one time governed by kings of its own ; it was after- 
wards subject to the Moguls of India, who ruled it with gen- 
tleness on account of its beauty ! On their downfall it fell 
under the sway of the rude ArTghans. 

Tibet. This contiguous country unites within itself the 
temperatures and products of the most opposite of those 

• Genesis, c. iii. v. 7, "And they sewed fig-leuves together, and made them- 
selves aprons." 



XX11 INTRODUCTION. 

climes in which man was intended to dwell, combining 
mountains crowned with perpetual snow and icebergs, 
with valleys in which never-ending Summer blooms. Tibet 
also presents, in a native or indigenous state, the various 
Plants and Animals which have been domesticated by Man ! 
Here are found in a wild state the Vine, the Rice-plant, the 
Pea, the Ox, the Horse, the Ass, the Sheep, the Goat, the 
Camel, the Pig, the Cat, and even the Reindeer, " his only 
" friend and companion in the polar wastes/ 5 * 

3. The Scriptural and Indian Accounts. 

It is extremely remarkable that the Indian accounts, of 
which the antiquity is believed to be equal to that of the 
Scriptural narrative, (see p. 132,) actually fix the first abode 
of Man on Mount Meru, on the borders of Tibet and 
Cashmire ! Blended though they are with fable, it is impos- 
sible to see how we can refuse to attach some weight to these 
venerable remains, harmonising, so completely as they do, 
with the conclusions formed on other grounds by some of the 
greatest men of modern times, as regards the date and the 
locality of the first introduction of our species ; for if, on the 
one hand, the received date of the origin of the human race 
be authentic according to the views of Cuvier, and if, on the 
other, the date of the Indian Vedas be such as accords with 
the opinions of Sir William Jones and other eminent autho- 
rities, the intervening period must have been too brief to efface 
a traditionary reminiscence of the early history of our species, 
(see p. 132.) The correspondence of the Indian with the 
Scriptural narrative is in many features very extraordinary. 
We have a similar account of the creation of the world, of 
the early history of man, of a primitive state of virtue and 

* Adelung quotes Zimmerman to the effect that of the animals found in Europe 
all have been derived from Asia, with the exception of sixteen or seventeen kinds, 
and the^e are mostly Mice and Bats. 



INTRODUCTION. XX111 

happiness, of the fall of man, of a tree of life and death.* 
We have also a Serpent that poisons the water, which is the 
source of life ! 

Adelung notices a feature in which the locality fixed upon 
as the birthplace of man by the Indian traditions corresponds 
with the Paradise of Scripture. From Mount Meru spring 
four Rivers, the Ganges, the Buramputur, the Indus, and 
another stream that flows into Tibet. "Now Michaelis," he 
observes, u translates Genesis, ii. 10, c Four rivers flowed 
" out of Eden, and they separated continually more and more 
" widely from each other P " 

Cashmire is considered by the Hindoos in the light of a 
Holy Land, the cradle of their race, their civilization, and 
their religion ! 

The Scriptural narrative, in describing the Creation of our 
species, does not define the first abode of man any further 
than by fixing it in u the East," (Genesis, ii. 8,) an expression 
corroborative, as Adelung observes, of the Indian traditions, 
for in the time of Moses this expression was applicable to the 
regions of the Indus. On the other hand, the common inter- 
pretation of Genesis, viii. 4, which assumes that Ararat in 
Armenia was the centre of diffusion of population after the 
Flood, is irreconcilable with those accounts, this locality being 
not to the East but to the North of all the Syro-Phoenician 
or Scriptural regions. But according to Bohlen,t the im- 
pression that Ararat in this verse means the mountain of that 
name in Armenia, which is inaccessible, crowned with per- 
petual snow,J and anciently had a different name, is erroneous. 
Ararat, he observes, does not mean a mountain but a country 
in this verse and elsewhere in Scripture. Thus the sons of 

* " A Tree well known in India, culled the Tschiampa. Its fruit is like an 
" Apple, and it is said to bear both good and evil frail !" 
t Bohlen (Prof. Theol. zu Kbnigsberg) auf Genesis. 
1 Morier. 



XXIV INTRODUCTION. 

Sennacherib escaped into the land of Ararat, (II. Kings, xix. 
37,) and the Prophet Jeremiah calls upon the kingdoms of 
Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz to rise up together with the 
Medes against Babylon, (Jerem. li, 27-8) Ararat in these 
passages, it may be suggested, may naturally be interpreted 
to apply generally to the kingdoms and regions of the unex- 
plored* table-land of Central Asia, which commences on the 
Persian borders, immediately to the East of Assyria. More- 
over the supposition that the Ararat of Scripture was in 
Armenia may be regarded as irreconcilable with another 
important passage, Gen., xi. 2, which distinctly implies that 
the emigrants who reached the plain of Shinar, and who, it 
may be inferred, were the first colonists of South Western 
Asia, had journeyed thither from some region far to the 
"East" of all the Semetic countries, of which Shinar or 
Mesopotamia forms the Eastern border ! 

It is remarkable that the expressions of this passage — "And 
"it came to pass, as they journeyed from the East, that they 
" found a plain in the land of Shinar ; and they dwelt there 5 ' 
— harmonise in the most perfect manner not only with the 
Indian remains, but also with the passages first referred to 
from the Scriptural narrative itself with respect to the first 
abode of the human race, for it will be seen by the map that 
1 , Gashmire lies in a direct line to " the East" of Shinar or 
Mesopotamia ! 2, The whole intervening territory is occu- 
pied by the Central- Asiatic table-land of Persia or Iran, which, 
as previously noticed, forms one continual descent from its 
highest elevation on the borders of Cashmire to its termi- 
nation near the plain of Shinar ! Ar-ar-at may reasonably 
be inferred to be nothing else than a term commonly applied 
in the East to " a country of lofty mountains," (see p. 83,) 
an expression highly appropriate to the Persian table-land 

* ' Unexplored' with reference to the Semetic nations. 



INTRODUCTION. XXV 

both at its centre, and at its junction with the Semetic regions, 
near the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates ! (See Ritter.) 

4. As before observed, in these regions are found in juxta- 
position nations which exhibit the very opposite Physiological 
characteristics of the Mongol and Western Asiatic races. 
The people of Tibet display the former, those of Cashmire 
the latter. 

5. Philology. 

Here the Monosyllabic and Polysyllabic languages branch 
off from a common centre. The former begin in Tibet, the 
latter in Cashmire. 

The Monosyllabic languages which prevail in Tibet, China, 
Ava, Pegu, Siam, Tonquin, and Cochin China, countries 
which contain a population of 180 millions, betray all the 
rudeness of human speech in its infancy. They have no 
compound words and no grammar. " The same sound," says 
Adelung, " which means Joy, means also Joyful and To re- 
"joice through all persons, numbers, and tenses !" 

" They form their plural like a child, either by repetition, 
"as k Tree-tree 9 (i. e. 'Trees'), or by means of an additional 
" word, as ' Tree-many ! Tree-other /' When the great grown- 
-up child is heard stammering ( Be Heaven, I Other* Father 
"which,' who but another child like him can guess that this 
" means e Our Father which art in Heaven /' " 

The imperfection of the Monosyllabic languages does not 
arise solely from their consisting of Monosyllables, but from 
the want of the more refined grammatical forms which are 
found in all other Tongues, even those of the wildest American 
Tribes. No nation, however uncivilized, that had once ac- 

* < 1' (with ' Other' added) means < We.' 



XXVI INTRODUCTION. 

quired a knowledge of these would ever fall back " to the 
"speech of childhood!" Hence Adelung infers that the 
Chinese, &c. must have been completely separated at an early 
period from the other races of men. But it will be asked, 
Why is it that the Chinese have remained stationary in this 
respect, while nations far inferior to them in every other 
point of view have surpassed them in this one instance? 
There is, I conceive, no other mode of solving this problem 
than by regarding these opposite results in the light of ves- 
tiges, belonging to an early stage of society, of the same 
variableness and inequality in the efforts of the human mind, 
which are observable in the inventions of modern times ! 
That this question admits of no other solution will be mani- 
fest from Chapter VI , in which it is shown that the Chinese 
is not fundamentally different from the tongues of Europe 
and Western Asia, but the same language in a different stage 
of its growth! 

6. The Astronomical Theory of Bailly. 

Bailly's theory is that the various nations of the ancient 
world were descendants of emigrants from a primaeval com- 
munity superior to them in knowledge and civilization, of 
which he places the locality in Central Asia. His views are 
founded on the fact that there existed a knowledge of the re- 
sults of some of the most recondite Scientific principles 
among the Persians, Chaldeans, &c, (nations who were cer- 
tainly unacquainted with the principles themselves,) as, for 
example, of the moon's course, of the Solar year, of the 
Zodiac, of the Planets, of the retrogression of the fixed Stars 
&c. Some of Bailly's opinions have been impugned in 
Cuvier's Theory of the Earth. 

The question whether the different branches of the Human 
Race are descended from one Stock, has been discussed on 



INTRODUCTION. XXV11 

Physiological grounds by Dr. Prichard,* in a work equally 
remarkable for profound Philosophical and extensive Literary 
research. After detailing a variety of facts with respect to 
the distribution of Plants and Animals, he thus expresses his 
conclusion : " The inference to be collected from the facts at 
" present known, seems to be as follows. The various tribes 
" of organized beings, were originally placed by the Creator in 
" certain regions, for which they are by their nature pecu- 
u liarly adapted. Each species had only one beginning in a 
" single stock ; probably a single pair, as Linnaeus supposed, 
" was first called into being in a particular spot, and their 
" progeny left to disperse themselves to as great a distance 
" as the locomotive powers, bestowed on each species, or its 
" capability of bearing changes of climate and other physical 
" circumstances may have enabled it to wander ." 

According to this writer the varieties of colour, feature, 
&c. displayed by different races of Men, are the results partly 
of climate and other external agencies, and partly also of a 
natural tendency to the manifestation of varieties which may 
be viewed in the light of a characteristic quality of the 
Species. Of these propositions the numerous and diversified 
facts collected by Dr. Prichard appear to furnish perfectly 
conclusive evidence. Thus he has shown that the charac- 
teristic physiognomy of the Negro is found to occur and dis- 
appear by nice gradations in strict accordance with the dif- 
ferences of climate throughout the African Continent. 

The tendency to variety is very manifest, even from facts 
under our daily observation. Individuals are common among 
European nations, who exhibit some one or more of the traits 
of the Negro, as, for example, his woolly hair, thick lips, &c. 
Among the Negro races have been born individuals of a 
perfectly white colour. Many of these specimens, according 

* Prichaid on Man. 



XXV111 INTRODUCTION. 

to Dr. Prichard, were not Albinos or diseased persons, but 
indisputable examples of his principle. 

It is probable that in the infancy of the race, this extra- 
ordinary tendency may have served the important purpose 
of accelerating those physiological changes by which the 
constitution of Man was adapted to the different climates of 
the Globe, while, in subsequent ages, climate which deter- 
mines the physiology of the majority, may be said thereby to 
neutralize the influence of these exceptions. Diversities of 
complexion, &c. occur in our own and in neighbouring 
countries within a very limited area. Thus the dark hair 
and features of the ancient Silures which were ascribed by 
the Romans to a Spanish origin, are still observable among 
their posterity, characteristics of which, I conceive, a satis- 
factory explanation may be found in the warm and equable 
temperature of the Southern counties of Wales, caused by 
the peculiar distribution of land and water.* In these 
countries many productions, both animal and vegetable, 
flourish, which are rarely found further North. The Night- 
ingale is common, and the Vine is cultivated frequently. 
The contrast between the temperature of the coasts of South 
Wales and that of North Wales has not escaped the atten- 
tion of the Welsh Bards. Davyth ap Gwilym, a Bard of the 
fourteenth Century, in a Poem of great beauty, in which he 
describes himself as writing from the land of ' wild/ 
Gwynedh (North Wales), calls upon the Summer and the 
Sun to visit with their choicest blessings the genial region of 
c Morgan wg/ (Glamorganshire,) of which he was a native, 
and alludes to its warm climate and its Vineyards, which 
seem to have been a conspicuous feature ! For some very 
valuable illustrations of the same principle, I may refer to the 
account given by the Rev. Thomas Price in his Tour in 

* Lvell on Geology. 



INTRODUCTION. XXIX 

Brittany, published in the Cambrian Quarterly Magazine, 
of the varieties of complexion and stature observable in 
Upper and Lower Brittany. # 

From the facts collected by Dr. Prichard, it appears to 
follow very distinctly, not only that Human Physiology is 
extremely mutable, but also that the transitions do not oc- 
cupy a very long interval of time. Thus Jews are resident 
in the African Kingdom of Kongo, whose complexions are 
as black as those of the native Negro population. Again on 
the borders of Negro-land, different sections of the same 
tribe, speaking the same language, are, in many instances, 
found variously approaching to or diverging from the Negro 
standard of colour and physiognomy, according to the lati- 
tude or elevation, or other physical features of their respective 
locations ; instances in which the separation — and therefore 
the physiological differences — must have been recent — for lan- 
guages change too rapidly to preserve the features of identity 
or even of a close affinity for a period of long duration ! The 
descendants of the Arabs who overran the North of Africa 
in comparatively modern times furnish another example ; they 
do not differ in physiognomy from the Berbers, the original 
inhabitants of the same regions. 

From these and similar facts it must be inferred — not only 
that the existing varieties of Human Physiology form no 
objection to the opinion that the different populations of the 
Globe are descended from one stock— the same facts lead also 
to the conclusion, that — with relation to the earliest eras in 
the History of our species — Physiological peculiarities must 
be entirely rejected as evidence, either of a specific connexion 
or of a specific difference between individual races of men, a 
principle admitting of many highly interesting applications, 
of which an example will now be offered. 

* See also the Rev. T. Price on the Physiology and Physiognomy of the British 
Isles. 



XXX INTRODUCTION. 

By what road did the first Colonists of Europe reach their 
final destination? Adelung has inferred that Europe was 
peopled exclusively from the Steppes of Northern Asia. 
But for this opinion, it does not seem that any valid reason 
can be assigned. If we assume Central Asia to have been 
the focus of migration, it will be observed that there are 
three routes by which the forefathers of the European 
nations may have arrived in their final abodes, viz. 1 , The 
Steppes of Northern Asia ; 2, Asia Minor and the Hellespont ; 
and 3, The Isthmus of Suez, the North of Africa, and the 
Straits of Gibraltar. For concluding that either of these 
three routes was used, to the exclusion of the other two, it 
would not be easy to point out any strong argument based on 
Geographical grounds. Now if the third was employed at all 
it may be inferred that some of the European nations may be 
even more nearly allied to those of Africa than they are to 
the Asiatic populations. To this conclusion, however, a for- 
midable objection occurs in the strikingly contrasted Phy- 
siology of Africa and Europe, for — even though it should be 
conceded that these opposite features do not serve to prove 
an aboriginal difference of race — the question still arises 
whether they do not, nevertheless, furnish evidence that the 
nations of these two continents are more remotely related 
than any other branches of the Human Family; whether they 
do not point to the inference that the inhabitants of the South 
and West of Asia — who certainly occupy an intermediate place 
Physiologically — must not also be regarded as forming a con- 
necting link between those of Europe and Africa in a Ge- 
nealogical and Historical sense ? To these inquiries it will be 
obvious that the facts just adverted to furnish a very distinct 
answer, for from those facts it directly follows — not only that 
climate and other existing causes are sufficient to account for 
the different Physical peculiarities of the inhabitants of Africa 
and Europe — but it also follows from the same evidence, that a 



INTRODUCTION. XXXI 

period of time far short of that during which the European 
and African nations are known to have occupied their present 
abodes, would have sufficed to superinduce the opposite cha- 
racteristics they now display ! Perhaps it may be inferred, 
though probably the subject does not admit of a precise con- 
clusion on this head, that in a suitable climate the lapse of 
500 or 600 years might be more than adequate to engraft on 
the physiognomy of Southern Asia all the distinctive pecu- 
liarities of the Negro. That these peculiarities had been fully 
developed in an early era of the History of the World, is 
manifest from the Egyptian Paintings, in many of which wo 
have individuals of this ill-fated race very vividly depicted, 
appearing sometimes as tributaries, and on other occasions as 
captives, leashed together like hounds ! 

Infirm health, and final extirpation, have often attended 
colonies from the North of Europe settled in tropical climes, 
incidents that seem to have had great weight with Dr. 
Prichard himself, as constituting an objection to his views. 
To this objection, however — independent of the numerous 
facts of an opposite nature — the following consideration, I 
conceive, suggests a satisfactory answer. Nature may have 
provided for gradual transitions of climate such as must have 
been encountered by a population progressively diffused over 
the Globe ; and that she has done so appears to be distinctly 
established. But it does not follow that she has made any 
provision for abrupt changes. These are probably a viola- 
tion of her dictates, and may have the same tendency to pro- 
duce disease and death as we know to be incident to sudden 
and extensive variations of temperature in the same climate 
and country. 

The foregoing deductions will be found to have a highly in- 
teresting application in relation to the origin of two ancient 
European races, the Basques and the Celts. If Physiological 
grounds are dismissed from our consideration, it will probably 



XXX11 INTRODUCTION. 

be found that the balance of evidence is in favour of the conclu- 
sion that these races have sprung, not from Asiatic colonists, 
but from emigrants from the coasts of the continent of 
Africa ! 

This conclusion is strongly favoured by the geographical 
position in which we find these races placed at the dawn of 
History. In the earliest ages the Celts and Basques were in 
possession of all the most western countries of Europe. The 
Spanish Peninsula, the South of France, and the North of 
Italy, were divided between them ; the remainder of France, 
the whole of Belgium, Switzerland, and the British Isles, 
were held by the Celts, while of Sicily and Italy the Basques 
appear to have been the first inhabitants. (See Dr. Prichard's 
Works.) Now in connexion with these facts two considera- 
tions deserve to be noticed, which, by a reference to the map 
will be seen to acquire especial force. 1. It will be observed 
that the original regions of the Celts and Basques are more 
closely contiguous to Africa than the Eastern countries of 
Europe are ; both Spain, and Sicily (which may be considered 
a part of Italy,) approaching at certain points very closely to 
the African coast. 2. If we assume Central Asia to have 
been the original focus of migration — it will be evident- that 
nomade septs issuing thence through the Syro-Phoenician 
countries, and along the North of Africa — would have 
found a shorter route to the Italian and to the Spanish 
Peninsulas — than those emigrants who may be supposed to 
have passed over the Hellespont, or through Northern Asia ! 
Further it may be added, that the regions originally held by 
the Basques and Celts are precisely those which would have 
been occupied by the descendants of Colonists who had ar- 
rived in Europe from the South-west of Africa if opposed — as 
we may infer them to have been — by rival Septs impeding 
their progress towards the East. To the East of the Basque 
and Celtic regions we find the rest of Europe possessed by 



INTRODUCTION. XXX111 

the Teutons or Germans, the Finns, the Sclavonians, and the 
Greeks, nations all located in countries closely contiguous to 
Asia, to the inhabitants of which continent the evidence of 
language indisputably proves them all to have been closely 
related.* That these nations were also the primitive inhabi- 
tants of the territories which they still occupy has been 
pointed out by Dr. Prichard. 

The conclusion above suggested appears to be supported 
by the evidence of history. With respect to the Basques, or 
Iberians, Dr. Prichard has referred to the testimony of clas- 
sical authorities, which distinctly confirms the opinion that 
they were an African race. But with regard to the Celts, 
the same learned writer assumes that they must originally 
have come from the East. It is remarkable, however, that 
this conclusion is directly at variance with the current 
opinions of the Ancients, to which he has referred in the fol- 
lowing passage : 

" The earlier history of the Celtic people is a subject of 
" great interest, but of difficult investigation. Were they 
" the aborigines of Gaul or Germany? According to all the 
" testimony of history, or rather of ancient tradition col- 
" lected by the writers of the Roman Empire, the migrations 
" of the Gauls were always from West to East ; the Celtic 
" nations in Germany as well as in Italy and in the East, 
" were supposed to have been colonies from Gaul, and the 
u Celtae have been considered as the immemorial inhabitants 
" of Western Europe !" (Ethnography of the Celtic Race, in 
Prichard on Man.) 

In assuming that the Celts migrated to Europe direct 
from Asia, Dr. Prichard's views were very naturally in- 
fluenced by the valuable evidence he has himself adduced of 

* The Greek, Russian, and German, have all been shown to belong to what 
are called the Indo-European class of languages. The Finnish, Vater states to 
be in its roots identical with the German. 



XXXIV INTRODUCTION. 

the connexion of the Celtic dialects with the Sanscrit, &c. 
This evidence, however, has been shown (see p. 19) to be 
quite consistent with the conclusion suggested above, viz. that 
the Celts may have sprung from emigrants who penetrated 
into Spain from the opposite coast of Africa. 

The interesting researches of Humboldt, which have served 
by the evidence of local names to show that the language of 
the ancient Iberians was the same as the Basque, have also 
established, by means of the same evidence, that the Peninsula 
of Spain, at the time of its subjugation by the Romans, was 
divided in a very irregular manner between Basque and 
Celtic tribes. " The Celts," observes Dr. Prichard, u pos- 
" sessed a considerable part of Spain, comprehending not 
66 only the central provinces, but also extensive territories in 
u both of the western corners of the Peninsula, where a 
" population either wholly or partly of Celtic descent re- 
" mained at the period of the Roman Conquest." The 
remainder of Spain was held by Basques or by Celt — 
Iberian tribes, a mixture of both races. 

This singular intermingling of the Basques and Celts in 
the Spanish Peninsula has been a source of many conflicting 
opinions among the learned, on the question which of these 
two races were the first inhabitants, and which were the in- 
vaders of Spain? The enigma, I conceive, will be most 
satisfactorily solved by the rejection of the opinion that that 
country was in the first instance wholly occupied by either ! 
Both may have arrived almost simultaneously, too weak in 
numbers wholly to engross the new territory on which they 
thus entered. Each may have thrown out into the most 
distant provinces weak colonies, consisting of a few nomade 
families, which afterwards became the foci of powerful Septs. 
This explanation completely harmonises with the instructive 
facts which have been developed relative to the North Ame- 
rican Indian Tribes, who are still in the "hunter state." as 



INTRODUCTION. XXXV 

the first colonists of Europe must have been. The languages 
of a great portion of the North American Indian Tribes have 
been shown to consist of mere dialects of a few Parent 
Tongues. But the Septs thus proved to be nearly related 
are not always contiguous, but often separated by tribes 
speaking dialects of a different class, a necessary consequence 
of the roving habits and the imperfect occupation of territory 
incident to the "hunter state." An interesting example of the 
influence of the causes which lead to these results occurs in 
Mr. Catlings allusion to a North American Indian Tribe, the 
Assinneboins, of whom he says : " The Assinneboins are a 
" part of the Dahcotas, or Sioux, undoubtedly ; for their 
a personal appearance, as well as their language, is very 
" similar. 

" At what time, or in what manner, these two parts of a 
u nation got strayed away from each other is a mystery ; yet 
" such cases have often occurred, of which I shall say more 
" in future. Large parties who are straying off in pursuit 
a of game, or in the occupation of war, are oftentimes inter- 
" cepted by their enemy, and being prevented from returning, 
" are run off to a distant region, where they take up their 
" residence and establish themselves as a nation." (Catlin 
on the North American Indians, p. 53.) 

The evidence furnished by their languages is not un- 
favorable to the supposition that the Basques and Celts may 
have been of African origin. 

Though by Humboldt, and some other eminent writers, the 
Basque has been regarded as distinct from other languages, 
the examples which occur at the close of this Introduction 
| must, I conceive, serve to remove all doubt as to the identity 
; of the Basques or Iberians with the other branches of the 
i Human Race. Of these examples grammatical differences 
i cannot serve to diminish the force. (See p. 89 and the chapter 
j on the Chinese Language.) The Basque also shows some 



XXXVI INTRODUCTION. 

traces of a peculiar connexion with the African tongues. 
Thus its numerals are nearly identical with those of the 
North African nations, and the formative particle Er is used 
for similar purposes in the Basque and Egyptian, and in both 
is placed before the word, a characteristic which distinguishes 
the African from the European languages. (See p. 1 42.) Thus 
we have Juan, c To go/ Er-uan, 'To cause to go/ [Basque.) 
Ouini, e Light/ Er-ouini, e To cause Light, or e To enlighten/ 
[Egyptian.) Instances of words formed in the same manner, 
which are common to the Egyptian and the Celtic, will be 
found at p. 38, Appendix A. 

A striking example of the connexion of the Celtic lan- 
guages with those of Africa occurs in the region where the 
respective Physiological peculiarities of North Africa and 
Negro-land meet. In the vicinity of the river Senegal the 
line of separation may be said to divide the Iolofs, a Negro 
nation, from the Fulahs and Phellatahs, whose physical 
characteristics are of an intermediate nature. Now it is re- 
markable, that by comparing and as it were uniting the 
dialects of the Iolofs, the Fulahs, and the Phellatahs, some of 
the most common Welsh words are obtained essentially un- 
changed, as in Le oure, e The Moon/ ( Fulahs,) Gour, and 
Gourgne, 'A Man/ [Iolofs,) Gourko, f A Man/ [Phellatahs,) 
Loho, < The Hand/ (Iolofs,) Bourou, ' Bread/ [Iolofs,) 
Bouron, ' Bread/ [Fulahs.) 

Consistently with the principles on which the origin of 
languages is hereafter explained in this work, I cannot 
suggest that these coincidences, striking as they are, afford 
any proof of a specific connexion between the Celtic and 
African races. But they tend to prove, nevertheless, that 
language furnishes no positive ground for inferring that the 
Celts are more nearly allied to the Asiatic than they are to 
the African races. Hence, since the evidence of Physiology 
on this subject is also of a negative character, it may be 



INTRODUCTION. XXXV11 

affirmed, with regard both to this race and the Basques, 
that the opinion that they are of Asiatic descent — opposed 
as it is by the evidence of history in one, if not in both 
cases — and by the inferences which Geographical considera- 
tions, in both instances, appear to suggest — requires recon- 
sideration. 

In this place I may observe, that in the course of the fol- 
lowing inquiries it will be found true as a general principle, 
that in direct proportion as the proofs of the General Unity 
of the different races of the Globe are observed to become 
more distinct, the evidence which has frequently been relied 
upon as demonstrative of a specific connexion between par- 
ticular races will also be observed to become more doubtful, 
for both the affinities and differences which exist between the 
languages of contiguous — and those of the most distant — 
nations, are for the most part so nearly alike in character, 
and so nearly equal in degree, as to favour the inference that 
the dispersion of the Human Race must have been exceed- 
ingly rapid, and that many ancient nations, such as the 
Basques and Celts, who in subsequent times were found 
closely contiguous, must, in the first eras of the world, have 
been isolated from each other by incessant war and nomade 
habits, almost as early as the most distant nations were ! It is 
certain that the language of the Welsh does not present either to 
the Basque or to the Teutonic — dialects of nations located con- 
tiguously to their Celtic forefathers — examples of affinity more 
striking than those just adverted to. Nor are the examples 
above noticed of the connexion between the Welsh and the 
African dialects by any means more remarkable than the in- 
stances of resemblance between the former tongue and the 
dialect of the Mandans, a North American Indian Tribe, 
which have been pointed out by Mr. Catlin ! In both cases 
the same observation applies — an observation based on a prin- 
ciple that will be more fully understood hereafter— viz., that 



XXXV111 INTRODUCTION. 

these coincidences are unequivocal proofs of a generic, but 
not of that kind of specific relation, which implies that these 
nations were at one time united more intimately than the 
other families of mankind. 

Various miscellaneous considerations connected with the 
primitive migrations of mankind may now be adverted to. 

Neither the extent nor the physical features of our Globe 
are such as imply that the spread of population over its sur- 
face must necessarily have been the work of many ages. To 
traverse the habitable earth from the Southern extremity of 
Africa to the North of Asia, and thence to the extreme 
Southern point of the American continent, is a task which 
would require only a small fraction of one man^s life ! And 
in the first ages of the Race, Man was probably a Nomade, 
a Wanderer ! It may be inferred, therefore, that in the early 
ages of the world the diffusion of population was very rapid 
in the warmer latitudes, while towards the North it was ob- 
structed rather by climate than by any other cause. As 
population became more dense in the more favoured regions, 
weaker tribes, it may be surmised, were gradually driven 
into the steppes of Asia and the wilds of Siberia, whence 
they may be supposed to have penetrated into Europe on 
the one hand, and across Behring's Straits into America on 
the other. With the exception of America, all the great 
Continents are connected together by districts easily traversed 
by Man ; and Behring's Strait, which is interposed between 
America and the North-east of Asia, might be passed in the 
canoes of some of the most barbarous tribes with which we 
are acquainted. 

The peopling of Islands is a subject that has been dis- 
cussed very satisfactorily by Dr. Prichard, and after him by 
Mr. Lyell. Their conclusion is, that the occasional drifting 
of canoes by storms and currents, is sufficient to account for 
the existence of Human population in the most remote 



INTRODUCTION. XXXIX 

islands, as is proved by facts related by Kotzebue and others. 
Several reasons have however been suggested in the following 
pages, for the conclusion that Australia is a recently peopled 
country. 

The geographical distribution of the various languages of 
the globe seems to render Adelung's arguments for regarding 
Central Asia as the birth-place of our species eminently con- 
vincing. The languages of China and the South-east of 
Asia are either Monosyllabic, or Tongues that partake of 
that character ; Languages having the same features are 
spoken through the long chain of islands in the Pacific as far 
as New Zealand. All the other Tongues of the Globe are 
Polysyllabic. Now if the birth-place of Man and the focus 
of migration was in Central Asia, on the borders of Cashmire 
and Tibet, this division of Languages would necessarily have 
followed, for it will be observed that Tibet, which is the 
source of the rivers of the regions to the South-east, would 
in that case have given inhabitants to the countries of South- 
eastern Asia, countries which are isolated from all others, for 
not only are they cut off from Europe, Africa, and Western 
Asia, by the system of Table-lands and its Mountains, they 
are also separated from Northern Asia and therefore from 
America by the Great Desert of Gobi or Shamo. To the 
Steppes of Northern Asia, and consequently to America as 
well as to Europe and Africa, the territory of Persia or Iran, 
which, as has been seen, forms the opposite slope of the 
system of Table-lands, is the natural route. 

The relations which the Parsian, the Pehlwi, and the Zend, 
the ancient dialects of Persia, bear to those of the surround- 
ing countries, seem to be in a highly interesting manner 
confirmatory of Adelung's views. The Parsian, which was 
spoken in the South of Persia in the provinces near to India, 
approaches so closely to the Sanscrit, the ancient language 
of that country, that Sir William Jones considered the Parsian 



xl INTRODUCTION. 

to have been the parent of the Sanscrit. The Pehlwi, the 
language of the Parthians who occupied the centre of Persia, 
a territory that adjoins the Semetic countries, appears very 
decidedly to be a connecting link between the Semetic lan- 
guages on the one hand and the Parsian and Zend and the 
Indo-European tongues, viewed as a class, on the other. The 
Zend, the dialect of ancient Media, or North Persia, is supposed 
to be closely allied to the Armenian. The Parsian, Pehlwi, 
and Zend, respectively bearing these relations to the languages 
of the neighbouring countries, are closely connected as sister 
dialects among themselves. These facts tend to show — from 
the summit of the Western Table-land viewed as a centre, 
through Persia viewed as a medium — a radiation of language 
from which a radiation of population may reasonably be 
presumed. 

The species of affinity which the ancient Persian dialects 
display to the languages of the adjoining countries appears 
to point very distinctly to another highly important conclu- 
sion in relation to the early history of mankind, viz., that the 
diffusion of population over Persia and the contiguous 
countries must have been a comparatively recent event with 
reference to the earliest specimens of the Persian and Semetic 
dialects, &c. After the lapse of a long interval the languages 
even of contiguous countries lose the traces of original unity. 
But with regard to modern dialects it can be distinctly shown 
that those of intermediate districts are connecting links 
between those of the extremities. Thus the Savoyard con- 
nects the French and Italian dialects of the Latin, and those 
of the North of England are intermediate between the modern 
English and the Lowland Scotch ; Du Ponceau has made a 
similar remark with regard to the North American Indian 
dialects spoken by kindred tribes. Septs placed in the centre 
continue to maintain a certain degree of intercourse with all 
the tribes by which they are surrounded, a consideration 



INTRODUCTION. xli 

which will account for these results, which probably cannot, 
in many cases, be referred to different degrees of Genealogical 
affinity. 

One of the most striking indications of the Original Unity 
of the different Races of Men is derivable from the uniformity 
of the Moral; Mental, and Social Features they display. 

Though the mind in early infancy may be destitute of 
positive ideas, it seems to be evident, nevertheless, that our 
Species has been gifted with Intellectual Faculties, and with 
Moral Sentiments and Sympathies, which are in the strictest 
sense innate.* Of this conclusion a striking confirmation is 
derivable, from the extraordinary sameness which, on a close 
examination, will be found to prevail in the characters, senti- 
ments, and sympathies of the various branches of the Human 
Species. Of this truth a few examples will now be noticed. 

The Negro tribes of Africa have frequently been supposed to 
belong to an inferior race of Men, an opinion founded — partly 
on an inadequate conception of the progressive character of 
the Human species — partly on ignorance of the progress which 
many Negro nations have actually made. On the one hand 
it would be difficult to show that the rudest of the African 
tribes are in a more barbarous condition than the ancestors of 
some of the most civilized European nations once were ! On 
the other hand, the proofs of a capacity for social improve- 
ment are as unequivocal in the former case as they are in the 
latter ! Large and important nations, as for example the 
Mandingoes and the lolofs, are found in the interior of Africa, 
professing the Mahomedan religion, and as far advanced in 
the virtues and refinements of civilization, as any other 
nations who are followers of the same creed. In many of these 
nations the Men are distinguished by a grave and reflective 
character, and the women are remarkable for their exemplary 

• See Dugald Stewart, on the Active and Mora) Faculties, 



xlii INTRODUCTION. 

discharge of the duties of domestic life. Sections of the Negro 
race have also been converted to Christianity, including many 
individuals who have been distinguished not only by a steady 
conformity to its precepts, but by the zeal and success with 
which they have fulfilled the high duties of Missionaries 
among their countrymen, and by the composition of Theo- 
logical treatises of no inconsiderable merit ! (See Dr. 
Prichard on Man.) 

It has been already observed that the physiognomy of the 
Egyptians approaches closely to that of the Negro race, of 
which it may be regarded as a modification. It has also been 
pointed out in another part of this work, that the evidence of 
language favours the inference that Egypt was the source of 
the various African populations. The discoveries of our age — 
while they have rendered indisputable the extraordinary arts, 
high civilization, and vast political power of ancient Egypt — 
have also served to disclose, in the portraits of individuals of 
that country, forms of grace and elegance, that serve to link 
together by the ties of a close and pathetic association, the in- 
fancy with the later ages of the world ! To adopt the expres- 
sion of Schlegel, (See SchlegeFs Translation of Dr. Prichard's 
Work on Eg. Mythol.,) the physiognomy of the ancient 
Egyptians is that of a u very noble race 5 ' of men. But it 
differs very widely from the characteristics of the European 
nations ; in the dignified features of the men, and also in the 
lineaments of female beauty, the approach to the Negro Phy- 
siognomy is often very conspicuous ! 

I may instance the countenance of the Sphynx as affording 
a specimen of the species of approximation to the Negro 
Physiognomy which is observable in ancient Egyptian 
remains ! 

One of the most forcible examples of the susceptibility to 



INTRODUCTION. xliii 

civilization* of nations once very barbarous may be found in 
a comparison of the character of the ancient Gauls and 
modern French. When Hannibal invaded Italy he confined 
his ravages to the possessions of the Romans and spared 
those of the Gauls ; a partial distinction which won the 
favour of this simple people, who flocked in great numbers 
to his standard. The Gauls who were in his army at the 
battle of Cannae are described as a fierce people, naked from 
the waist, carrying large round shields, with swords of an 
enormous size blunted at the point. Yet there cannot be a 
doubt that the French, one of the most refined and distin- 
guished of modern nations, are lineally descended from this 
primitive race ! (See p. 64.) The true answer to the reveries 
of Pinkerton, with respect to the imputed incapacity of the 
Celts, is to be found in the literature and science of the 
French, in whom, owing to the great extent of their country, 
the original Celtic blood is most probably less unmingled 
than it is in the Irish, the Welsh, or the Highland Scotch ! 

A comparison of the character of the ancient Gauls and 
modern French involves also an instructive example of the 
mode in which the tendency to progression in the Human 
species is often united with a stability of national character 
in some features that forms a singular contrast to that 
tendency. In comparing Caesar's Commentaries on his Wars 
in Gaul with the volumes of General Napier, we are struck, 
in almost every page, with proofs of a coincidence of mental 
features so minute, that but for the opposite accompaniments 
on the one hand, of a primitive, and on the other of a modern 
age, we might imagine we had before us, in these relations, 
two narratives referring to the same wars, the same sieges, 

* In connexion with this subject I may refer to an article distinguished by great 
genius and profound philosophical reasoning, which lately appeared in Chambers's 
Journal, under the title of " Thoughts on Nations and Civilization.'" (See 
Number for May 21st, 1842.) 



xliv INTRODUCTION. 

and the same men ! The mind is perplexed to eonceive how 
a nation that has existed in conditions so contrasted, as re- 
gards Civilization, could have continued thus uniform in its 
social and moral features ! 

Striking as these and other proofs which may be adduced 
of the uniformity of character which has often been maintained 
by the same nation in different stages of society undoubtedly 
are, they must cease to excite surprise — though they may be 
said to acquire even a higher interest — when viewed through 
the medium of the closely analogous results which will be 
found to flow from a comparison with the civilized nations 
of Europe of contemporaneous Tribes still existing in the 
" Hunter State." 

The natives of Australia have generally been thought to oc- 
cupy the lowest place in the social scale. But from Col. Grey^s 
valuable work it may be inferred that in their devices for 
catching game and other arts belonging to their rude state, 
they give proofs of the same intelligence and acuteness as are 
evinced by other races of men. They have also Songs of War 
and Love which they sing in tunes most barbarous and dis- 
cordant. The more refined lays of the European excite mimicry 
and laughter. But, adds Col. Grey, "Some of the natives 
" are not insensible to the charms of our music. Warrup, 
"a native youth, who lived with me for several months 
"asa servant, once accompanied me to an amateur theatre at 
" Perth, and when the actors came forward and sang i God 
" save the Queen,' he burst into tears. He certainly could 
" not have comprehended the words of the song, and, therefore, 
iC must have been affected by the Music alone?' 

* * * * 

u Nothing can awaken in the breast more melancholy feel- 
" ings than the funeral chants of these people. They are 
" sung by a whole chorus of females of all ages, and the effect 



INTRODUCTION-. xlv 

"produced upon the bystanders by this wild music is in- 
" describable." 

* * * * 

Many of the Australian words given by Colonel Grey will 
readily be recognized among the terms collected from the 
languages of the other Four Continents in Appendix A ; as 
for example: Nganga, Ngon-ge, Tin-dee. Tiendee, f The Sun' 
and < The Stars/ (See App. A, p. 26.) Yanna, 'To go/ and 
Tjenna, Tinna, 'The Foot/ (74.) Tullun, Tdallung, Tad- 
langa, c The Tongue/ (72.) Nago, c To see/ (42, 43.) Mena, 
'The Eye.' (14.) Poou, Puiyu, Poito, Booyoo, ' Smoke/ and 
Bobun, < To blow/ (21.) 

In the construction of their canoes, the inhabitants of 
some of the most barbarous islands of the Pacific, exhibit an 
originality and a variety of conception of precisely the same 
nature as is displayed in those mechanical inventions by which 
the sum of European civilization is progressively extended ! 

But in • relation to the subject more immediately under 
examination, far the most valuable and instructive informa- 
tion occurs in Mr. Catlings account of his residence among 
the North American Indian Tribes, a work, admirable alike 
as a living picture of Indian manners and sentiments, and 
also as an earnest and simple minded, and for that reason an 
eminently touching and eloquent appeal, on behalf of one of 
the noblest, though one of the most unfortunate families of 
the Human Race ! 

" I have roamed about from time to time during seven 
"or eight years f says the writer, "visiting and associating 
" with some three or four hundred thousand of these people, 
"under an almost infinite variety of circumstances; and 
" from the very many and decidedly voluntary acts of their 
" hospitality and kindness, I feel bound to pronounce them, 
"by nature, a kind and hospitable people I have been 
" welcomed generally in their country, and treated to the 



xlvi INTRODUCTION. 

" best that they could give me, without any charges made 
" for my board ; they have often escorted me through their 
" enemies' country at some hazard to their own lives, and 
u aided me in passing mountains and rivers with my awkward 
" baggage ; and under all these circumstances of exposure, 
"no Indian ever betrayed me, struck me a blow, or stole 
" from me a shilling's worth of my property that I am aware of. 

"This is saying a great deal (and proving it too, if the 
" reader will believe me,) in favour of the virtues of these 
" people ; when it is borne in mind, as it should be, that 
" there is no law in the land to punish for theft, that locks 
"and keys are not known in their country, that the com- 
"mandments have never been divulged amongst them, nor 
" can any human retribution fall upon the head of a thief, 
"save the disgrace which attaches as a stigma to his cha- 
racter in the eyes of the people around him. 

"And thus in these little communities, strange as it may 
"seem, in the absence of all systems of jurisprudence, I have 
" often beheld peace and happiness, and quiet, reigning su- 
" preme, for which even kings and emperors might envy them. 
" I have seen rights and virtue protected, and wrongs re- 
" dressed ; and I have seen conjugal, filial and paternal affec- 
"tion, in the simplicity and contentedness of nature. I have 
"unavoidably formed warm and enduring attachments to 
" some of these men, which I do not wish to forget, who have 
" brought me near to their hearts, and in our final separation 
"have embraced me in their arms, and commended me and 
" my affairs to the keeping of the Great Spirit." 

Among those tribes which have been placed in contact with 
the Whites, individuals, generally Chiefs, have acquired all 
the advantages of a European education, to which in most of 
these instances are united, dignified and gentlemanlike feel- 
ings and manners, qualities which seem to belong to the native 
American character. Some tribes have been nearly extir- 



INTRODUCTION. xlvil 

pated by the use of fermented liquors. But some sections of 
the Indian population have been converted to Christianity, and 
adopted the habit of total abstinence ; others have become in- 
dustrious cultivators of the soil. Where this race has rejected 
the benefits of civilization, it seems almost invariably to have 
arisen from the prejudices naturally excited in their minds by 
the vices of the worst part of the white population, and the 
calamities which they have caused by the introduction of 
ardent spirits ! Even those excellent men who have devoted 
their lives to the religious instruction of the Indians, and by 
whose efforts it may be inferred that some Tribes have been 
saved from extinction, have too often found in these preju- 
dices, an obstacle which might perhaps be removed were 
the missionaries generally to commence by offering to teach 
some of the simplest arts of civilized life — information of 
which the benefits would be immediately appreciated— as a 
means of paving the way for obtaining that confidence which, 
as religious instructors, they require. 

The life of constant war and peril to which the Indians are 
exposed is incompatible with actual Social advancement. 
But proofs of a spontaneous tendency to civilization may 
be gleaned, as I conceive, from the grace and tastefulness of 
their dresses — the beautiful lodges many of the Tribes build — 
and other indications, &c. But of this truth, a still more deci- 
sive example occurs, as I venture to think, in the account given 
by Mr. Catlin of a very interesting tribe, the Mandans, whom, 
from the evidence of language already noticed and other con- 
siderations, he has conjectured to be descendants of Madoc"s 
Colony, and whose personal character and appearance he 
thus describes : 

" The Mandans are certainly a very interesting and pleasing 
" people in their personal appearance and manners ; differing 
" in many respects, both in looks and customs, from all other 
" tribes which I have ever seen. They are not a warlike 



xlviii INTRODUCTION. 

"people, for they seldom, if ever, carry war into their 
" enemies' country ; but when invaded, show their valour and 
" courage to be equal to that of any people on earth. Being 
" a small tribe, and unable to contend on the wide prairies 
" with the Sioux and other roaming tribes, who are ten times 
u more numerous, they have very judiciously located themselves 
" in a permanent village, which is strongly fortified, and en- 
" sures their preservation. By this means they have advanced 
"further in the arts of manufacture, and have supplied their 
" lodges more abundantly with the comforts and even luxuries 
et °f life than any Indian nation I know of. The consequence 
" of this is that the tribe have taken many steps ahead of other 
" tribes in manners and refinements (if I may be allowed to use 
" the word refinement to Indian life) ; and are, therefore, 
" familiarly (and correctly) denominated by the Traders and 
" others, who have been amongst them, the c polite and 
" friendly Mandans/ 

" There is certainly great justice in the remark, and so 
" forcibly have I been struck with the peculiar ease and ele- 
" gatice of this peeple, together with the diversity of com- 
" plexions, the various colours of their hair and eyes, the 
" singularity of their language, and their peculiar and unac- 
" countable customs, that I am fully convinced that they have 
e: sprung from some other origin than that of the other North 
" American tribes, or that they are an amalgam of natives 
" with some civilized race. 

" Here arises a question of very great interest and impor- 
" tance for discussion ; and after further familiarity with their 
" character, customs, and traditions, if I forget not, I will 
" eventually give it further consideration. Suffice it then for 
" the present, that their personal appearance alone, inde- 
pendent of their modes and customs, pronounces them at 
" once as more or less than savage, 

"A stranger in the Mandan village is first struck with the 



INTRODUCTION. xlix 

u different shades of complexion and colours of hair which he 
" sees in a crowd, and is at once almost disposed to exclaim 
" that ' these are not Indians F 

lC There are a great many of these people whose com- 
" plexions appear as light as half-breeds ; and amongst the 
" women particularly, there are many whose skins are almost 
i( white, with the most pleasing symmetry and proportion of 
" features ; with hazel, with gray, and with blue eyes ; with 
" mildness and sweetness of expression, and excessive modesty 
" of demeanour, which render them exceedingly pleasing and 
« beautiful !" 

It has been shown in another part of this work that the 
language of the Mandans does not prove them to be con- 
nected with the Welsh, and that their dialect is of the same 
character as that of other Indian tribes. Further, did space 
allow, I might produce some evidence that the Mandans are 
allied in blood to their hereditary foes, the fierce and warlike 
Sioux ! The phenomena noticed by Mr. Catlin must be ex- 
plained therefore by the aid of different principles than those 
to which he has referred.* 

I conceive then that these various peculiarities of colour, 
personal appearance, and of manners and social habits, which 
he noticed amongst the Mandans, may all be viewed as effects 
of one simple cause, viz. their "judiciously selected location" 
in "a permanent village,' 5 involving protection from exposure 
to the seasons on the one hand, and the abandonment of 
nomade habits on the other. To the former, the changes of 
complexion — to the latter, the social advances — of the 
Mandan Tribe may be ascribed ! 

There are numerous other data in Mr. Catlings work which 
seem to afford illustrations of the mutability of Human 
Physiology. The Indians who live among the Whites he 
describes as e Pale 5 Red. May not the change implied in 

* This sept were also generally termed the " gentlemanly" Mandans. The 
recent destruction of this warm-hearted tribe by the smallpox is one of the most 
heart-rending tragedies in history ! 

D 



1 INTRODUCTION. 

this expression be referred to an abandonment of their original 
life of activity and exposure on the wild Prairie, quite as much 
as to misfortune or a mixture of European blood ? The va- 
riety of Physiognomy among the different tribes, as shown 
by his admirable portraits of Chiefs, &c, is very extraordinary. 
Some of these countenances are ugly and unprepossessing ; 
but in others the finest European features occur ! The traits 
exhibited by these portraits are contrary to the inference 
which Humboldt's description might suggest, viz., that all the 
N. A. Indian Tribes resemble the Mongol Race in features 
as well as in the colour of their skin and the absence of beard. 

The Indian shows no want of acuteness in detecting the 
characteristic vices, whether real or imaginary, of the civilized 
world. 

"On one occasion, when I had interrogated a Sioux chiefj 
"on the Upper Missouri, about their government, their 
" punishments, and tortures of prisoners, for which I had 
" freely condemned them for the cruelty of practice, he took 
" occasion, when I had got through, to ask me some ques- 
" tions relative to modes in the civilized world. He told me 
"he had often heard that white people hung their criminals 
a by the neck and choked them to death like dogs, and those 
" their own people; to which I answered ' Yes.' He then told 
" me he had learned that they shut each other up in prisons, 
" where they keep them a great part of their lives because they 
" can^t pay money ! I replied in the affirmative to this, which 
" occasioned great surprise and excessive laughter even 
" amongst the women ! He told me that he had been to our 
" Fort at Council Bluffs, where we had a great many warriors 
" and braves, and he saw three of them taken out on the 
u prairies and tied to a post and whipped almost to death ; and 
"he had been told that they submit to all this to get a little 
" money ! * * * 

" He put to me a chapter of other questions as to the tres- 
" passes (of the Whites) on their lands, their continual cor- 



INTRODUCTION. li 

" ruption of the morals of their women, and digging open the 
" Indian's graves to get their bones, &c. To all of which I 
" was compelled to reply in the affirmative, and quite glad to 
" close my note book, and quietly to escape from the throng 
" that had collected around me, and saying (though to my- 
" self and silently), that these and a hundred others are vices 
" that belong to the civilized world, and are practised upon 
tt (but certainly in no instance reciprocated by) 'the cruel and 
" relentless' savage !" 

It is probable that the finer features of the North American 
Indian character may be ascribed in a great measure to the 
elevated nature of their religious belief, which indisputably 
appears to be quite free from the loathsome and debasing 
idolatry of the Hindoos and other pagan nations of the Old 
World. 

" I fearlessly assert to the world (and I defy contradiction), 
" that the North American Indian is everywhere in his native 
" state a highly moral and religious being, endowed by his 
" Maker with an intuitive knowledge of some great Author 
" of his being and the universe, in dread of whose displeasure 
,f he constantly lives, with the apprehension before him of a 
" future state, where he expects to be rewarded or punished 
"according to the merits he has gained or forfeited in this 
« world." 

In their native state, in regions remote from the Whites, 
the Indians are well clothed and fed, cleanly in their habits, 
cheerful, and healthy. The opposite qualities have been con- 
sidered to be characteristic of the race, in consequence of the 
unhappy condition of most of those Tribes who are found 
among or near the settlements of the Whites, a condition 
ascribable to the use of ardent spirits, the destruction of the 
game on which they originally subsisted, and the fraudulent 
manner in which they have often been deprived of their 
lands ! 



Ill INTRODUCTION. 

" From what I have seen of these people I feel authorized 
" to say, that there is nothing very strange or unaccountable 
u in their character ; but that it is a simple one, and easy to 
"be understood if the right means be taken to familiarize 
" ourselves with it. Although it has dark spots, yet there is 
"much in it to be applauded, and much to recommend it to 
M the admiration of the enlightened world. And I trust that 
" the reader who looks through these volumes with care, will 
u be disposed to join me in the conclusion, that the North 
" American Indian in his native state is an honest, hospitable, 
" faithful, brave, warlike, cruel, revengeful, relentless, yet 
" honorable, contemplative, and religious being." 

The tortures practised by the Indians on their prisoners of 
war are, it seems, inflicted only on a portion of their cap- 
tives by way of reprisal. The prisoners are for the most 
part adopted into the conquering tribe. The men are mar- 
ried to the wives of those who have fallen in battle ; and 
those outrages on the weaker sex which have disgraced the 
armies of civilized Europe are unknown in the annals of 
Indian warfare ! 

The Indian is reckless of life, and the female sex among 
these tribes is consigned to a life of servitude. But it must 
be asked, is the morality of European nations uniformly 
founded on an earnest regard for the claims of humanity — 
on a tender respect for the rights and for the sufferings of the 
weak and defenceless ! This is a momentous question, to 
which an answer at once humiliating and complete may be 
drawn from one single historical incident described in the 
following touching passage ! 

After noticing the defective state of the European law of 
nations in certain respects, the author from whose work the 
following narrative has been derived, thus proceeds : " The 
" other case in which it seems to me that the law of nations 
" should either be amended, or declared more clearly and en- 



INTRODUCTION. liii 

u forced in practice, is that of the blockade of townsnotdefended 
" by their inhabitants, in order to force their surrender by starva- 
" tion. And here let us try to realize to ourselves what such a 
" blockade is. We need not, unhappily, draw a fancied pic- 
" ture ; history, and no remote history either, will supply us 
u with the facts. Some of you, I doubt not, remember 
" Genoa; you have seen that queenly city, with its streets of 
" palaces rising tier above tier from the water, girdling with 
" the long lines of its bright white houses the vast sweep of 
"its harbour, the mouth of which is marked by a huge 
" natural mole of rock, crowned by its magnificent lighthouse- 
" tower. You remember how its white houses rose out of a 
" mass of fig, and olive, and orange trees, the glory of its old 
"patrician luxury; you may have observed the mountains 
" behind the town, spotted at intervals by small circular low 
" towers, one of which is distinctly conspicuous where the 
" ridge of the hills rises to its summit and hides from view 
" all the country behind it. Those towers are the forts of the 
fcC famous lines ; which, curiously resembling in shape the later 
" Syracusan walls inclosing Epipolae, converge inland from 
" the eastern and western extremities of the city, looking 
" down the western line of the valley of Pulcevera, the 
" eastern on that of the Bisagno, till they meet as I have said 
" on the summit of the mountains, where the hills cease to 
" rise from the sea and become more or less of a table-land, 
" running off towards the interior at the distance, as well as I 
" remember, of between two and three miles from the outside of 
" the city. Thus a very large open space is inclosed within 
"the lines, and Genoa is capable therefore of becoming a vast 
" entrenched camp, holding not so much a garrison as an 
" army. In the autumn of 1 799, the Austrians had driven 
" the French out of Lombardy and Piedmont ; their last vic- 
" tory of Fossano or Genola, had won the fortress of Coni or 
"Cuneo close under the Alps, and at the very extremity of 



liv INTRODUCTION. 

" the plain of the Po. The French clung to Italy only by 
" their hold of the Riviera of Genoa, the narrow strip of coast 
" between the Apennines and the sea, which extends from 
a the frontiers of France almost to the mouth of the Arno. 
14 Hither the remains of the French force were collected, com- 
" manded by General Massena, and the point of chief im- 
" portance to his defence was the city of Genoa. 

" Napoleon had just returned from Egypt, and was become 
" First Consul; but he could not be expected to take the field 
" till the following spring, and till then Massena was hopeless 
" of relief from without, everything was to depend upon his 
" own pertinacity. The strength of his army made it impossible 
e ' to force it in such a position as Genoa ; but its very numbers, 
u added to the population of the city, held out to the enemy 
" a hope of reducing it by famine; and as Genoa derives most 
" of its supplies by sea, Lord Keith, the British naval Com- 
a mander in Chief in the Mediterranean, lent the assistance 
" of his naval force to the Austrians, and by the vigilance of 
" his cruizers, the whole coasting trade right and left was ef- 
66 fectually cut off. It is not at once that the inhabitants 
" of a great city, accustomed to the daily sight of well-stored 
" shops and an abundant market, begin to realize the idea 
" of scarcity; or that the wealthy classes of society, who have 
" never known any other state than one of abundance and 
et luxury, begin seriously to conceive of famine. But the shops 
" were emptied, and the storehouses began to be drawn upon; 
" and no fresh supply or hope of supply appeared. Winter 
" passed away, and Spring returned, so early and so beautiful 
" on that garden-like coast, sheltered as it is from the north 
" winds by its belt of mountains, and open to the full rays of 
€t the Southern Sun. Spring returned, and clothed the hill 
" sides within the lines with its fresh verdure. But that ver- 
" dure was no more the delight of the careless eye of luxury, 
" refreshing the citizens by its loveliness and softness when 



INTRODUCTION. lv 

" they rode or walked up thither from the city to enjoy the 
" surpassing beauty of the prospect ! The green hill sides 
"were now visited for a very different object; ladies of the 
" highest rank might be seen cutting up every plant which 
" it was possible to turn to food, and bearing home the com- 
" mon weeds of our road sides as a most precious treasure ! 

* The French general pitied the distress of the people ; but 
" the lives and the strength of his garrison seemed to him 
"more important than the lives of the Genoese, and such 
" provisions as remained were reserved in the first place for 
" the French army. Scarcity became utter want, and want 
u became famine ! In the most gorgeous palaces of that gor- 
" geous city, no less than in the humblest tenements of the 
"poor, death was busy; not the momentary death of battle 
"or massacre, nor the speedy death of pestilence, but the 
" lingering and most miserable death of famine ! Infants died 
" before their parents' eyes, husbands and wives lay down to 
"expire together! A man whom I saw at Genoa in 1825 
" told me that his father and two of his brothers had been 
" starved to death in this fatal siege. So it went on, till in 
" the month of June, when Napoleon had already descended 
" from the Alps into the plain of Lombardy, the misery be- 
" came unendurable, and Massena surrendered. But before 
" he did so, twenty thousand innocent persons, old and young, 
"women and children, had died by the most horrible of deaths 

* which humanity can endure ! Other horrors which occurred 
" besides during the blockade I pass over; the agonizing death 
" of twenty thousand innocent and helpless persons requires 
" nothing to be added to it ! 

" Now is it right that such a tragedy as this should take 
(i place, and that the laws of war should be supposed to justify 
" the authors of it ? Conceive having been a naval officer in 
" Lord Keith's squadron at that time, and being employed in 
" stopping the food which was being brought for the relief of 



lvi INTRODUCTION. 

" such misery ! For the thing was done deliberately ; the 
" helplessness of the Genoese was known, their distress was 
" known ; it was known that they could not force Massena to 
"surrender; it was known that they were dying daily by 
" hundreds ; yet week after week, and month after month, 
" did the British ships of war keep their iron watch along all 
" the coast : no vessel nor boat laden with any article of 
" provision could escape their vigilance! One cannot but be 
" thankful that Nelson was spared from commanding at this 
" horrible blockade of Genoa ! 

"Now on which side the law of Nations should throw the guilt 
" of most atrocious murder is of little comparative consequence 
" or whether it should attach to both sides equally: but that the 
" deliberate starving to death of twenty thousand helpless per- 
" sons should be regarded as a crime in one or in both of 
" the parties concerned in it seems to me self-evident ! The 
" simplest course would seem to be that all non-combatants 
" should be allowed to go out of a blockaded town, and that 
" the general who should refuse to let them pass should be 
" regarded in the same light as one who were to murder his 
" prisoners or who were in the habit of butchering women and 
" children." 

It is not intended to be suggested that the morality of the 
more virtuous and religious members of civilized communities 
is not superior to that of uncivilized races. But that such 
superiority can be claimed by the mass of the inhabitants of 
Europe is a proposition of which the evidence must be allowed 
to be doubtful as regards some — must be allowed, alas ! to 
fail altogether as regards many — of those virtues of which our 
nature is capable ! 

Yet, notwithstanding many melancholy facts that seem to 
be repugnant to such a conclusion, there exist satisfactory 
grounds for inferring that civilization has a direct tendency to 



INTRODUCTION. lvii 

promote the moral improvement of the Human Race, and that 
our species is probably destined even in this state of existence, 
to a course not only of social, but also of a moral progression ! 
Of this truth distinct indications may be recognized in the 
altered sentiments of European nations on many momentous 
subjects, as evinced in the increasing aversion to wars of ag- 
gression — in the general condemnation of the principle — and 
the extensive abolition of the practice — of slavery, and in the 
rapid growth of an earnest sympathy, at once generous and 
humane, with the claims and the sufferings of the more unpro- 
tected branches of mankind ! Of the practical results of these 
changes in the moral sentiments of Society— of which Chris- 
tianity, which teaches that all men are of one blood and of one 
family, has been the primary source —and of which the Eng- 
lish nation —influenced by the example of a few men of extra- 
ordinary piety, wisdom, and humanity, to whom it gave birth in 
the last generation, have been the most conspicuous instruments 
— one example may be appropriately introduced in this place. 
"The original proprietors of this fine soil, (the neighbour - 
u hood of the Cape of Good Hope,) the poor Hottentots, the 
"fabricated tales of whose filthiness are known to every school- 
"boy, and have made them proverbial in every nation of Europe, 
u are probably the simplest and most inoffensive of the human 
" race. By open robbery and murder, and by a cruel and per- 
" severing system of oppression on the part of the Dutch colo- 
et nists, they have been reduced to not much more than 15,000 
" souls. Under the protection of theBritish government, by the 
" careful instruction of the missionaries, and their increased 
" importance in the colony as labourers since the abolition of the 
" slave trade, their number is now considerably on the increase; 
" General Craig, after the capture of the Cape, brought for- 
" ward, experimentally, the physical and moral qualities of 
" this most injured and degraded people, by forming them into 
" a military corps, which, in point of discipline, obedience, 



hiii INTRODUCTION. 

" instruction and cleanliness, were not at all behind European 
"troops. The truth is that the filthy appearance of the 
" Hottentot was never from choice, but necessity. The anxiety 
" which he now shows to get quit of his sheep-skin clothing for 
" cotton, linen, or woollen, and to keep his person clean, proves 
" that he is far more sensible than the ' Boor 5 to the comforts of 
" civilized life. ■ Whosoever, says the excellent Mr. Latrobe, 
** the father of the Moravians in this country, charges the 
" Hottentots with being inferior to other people of the same 
" class as to education and the means of improvement, knows 
" nothing about them. They are in general more sensible, 
" and possess better judgment than most Europeans, equally 
u destitute of the means of instruction/ At Bavians Kloof, 
" or the Monkey's Ravine, which General Jansens altered into 
" Gandenthal, or the Valley of Grace, 130 miles e. by n. of 
" Cape Town, is an establishment of these poor despised 
"people under the care of missionaries, founded in 1737. It 
"consists of a beautiful village containing 1400 Hottentot 
" inhabitants. Every cottage has a garden, a few of the poor 
" class still wear sheep skins, and their children go naked, but 
" far the greater part of them make a point of providing them- 
" selves with jackets and trousers, and other articles of 
" European dress which they already wear on Sundays. Both 
" before and after meals they sing grace in the sweetest tones 
" imaginable. The place externally, appears a little Paradise, 
" and let it be remembered it is only one of a great number 
" of these missionary stations. The Hottentots are of a deep 
" brown or yellow brown colour, their eyes are pure white, 
" their head is small ; the face very wide above, ends in a 
" point ; their cheek-bones are prominent, their eyes sunk, the 
" nose flat, the lips thick, the teeth white, and the hand and 
" foot rather small. They are well made and tall, their hair is 
" black, either curled or woolly, and they have little or no 
"beard. Barrow and Grandpre conceive them to be of a 



INTRODUCTION. fix 

"Chinese origin, they call themselves Gkhui-gkhui, pro- 
" nounced with a click of the tongue or throat, and say they 
" do not come from the interior, but from over the Sea ! The 
" Hottentots are divided into several Tribes/'* 

The nature of their language shows very clearly that the Hot- 
tentots are not closely connected by descent with the Chinese ; 
the tradition that they came originally from a country beyond 
the sea might apply to the island of Madagascar where a dia- 
lect kindred to theirs is spoken. There seems however every 
reason for concluding, agreeably to Dr. Prichard's views, that 
the Hottentots are descendants of Colonists impelled by the 
ordinary causes of migration from the North and Middle of 
Africa, who, as they finally occupied the farthest extremity, 
were probably the earliest inhabitants of that Continent. The 
evidence of language serves in a very striking manner to confirm 
this conclusion. For proofs of the connexion of the Hottentot 
dialects with the Egyptian and with the Negro languages, see 
Appendix A. The Hottentot dialects abound also in words 
unequivocally identical with the corresponding terms in an- 
cient European and Asiatic languages, as for instance Imine, 
'A Day/ and Ki, 'The Earth,' with the Greek. Surrie, Sore, 
'The Sun', with the Sanscrit ' Surya.' Mamma, 'A Mother/ 
with the Latin, &c. Bo Aboob, 'A Father,' with 'Abba/ 
Hebrew. Tamma, e The Tongue.' (See p. 15, &c. &c.) Coin- 
cidences of this nature are proofs of that species of generic 
connexion with all the other races of mankind which might 
be expected as a consequence of a separation that, judging 
from the Geographical position of the Hottentot tribes, we 
may suppose to have occurred in the earliest ages of the world. 

* Bell's Geography. 



1\ INTRODUCTION. 



Proofs of the Identity of the Basque with other Languages. 

The following specimens of the Basque, which have been 
introduced in illustration of the previous statement, at p. xxxv, 
include nearly all those words which are in most common 
use (with the exception of that class of Words which is 
noticed in Appendix A). By referring to the passages in 
this work, noticed below, the identity of the Basque words 
with those of other nations will be readily seen. 

'A Father.' Aita {Basque,) Atta {Gothic), p. 52, Eioth {Egyp- 
tian.) — C A Mother.' A . m . a . {Basque,) A.m. {Hebrew), 
see p. 106. 

1 Earth.' Erria {Basque), Erde {German), A . r . ts {Hebrew.) 

' Water.' Ura {Basque), Ur {Siberians), see p. 84. 

'A Stream.' Ibaya {Basque), see p. 71. 

'Dog.' Potzoa {Basque), Psit {Bohemian), Pesia {Russian.) 

Ora {Basque), Ouhor {Egyptian.) 

'Cat.' Catua {Basque), see p. 122. 

'Ox.' Idia {Basque), Ei di on {Welsh.) 

'Cow.' Bihia {Basque), Bee ouch {Welsh.) 

' Bull.' Cecena {Basque), Uxen, Ukshhan {Sanscrit), Ox, Oxen 
{English.) 

'Goat.' A qu erra {Basque), see p. 122. 

'A Lamb.' A-churria, p. 121, Umerria {Basque), A . m . r 
{Chaldce.) 

'Swine.' Charria Cherria {Basque), Xoir-os {Greek), see p. 122. 

'A Bear.' Artsa {Basque), Arth {Welsh), Arcturus {Latin), 
Arktos {Greek.) 

The identity of the following words with equivalent terms 
in the English, &c. will be obvious. 

' Bread of Maize.' Artosi {Basque), Artos 'Bread; Food' {Greek.) 

'An Arrow.' Istoa {Basque), Ios Oistos {Greek.) 

' A Raven ; Black.' Balcha Belcha {Basque.) 

' Eud.' Ondoa {Basque.) 

' To Go.' Gan {Basque), Gang {Lowland Scotch), Gehen {German.) 

'To Sell.' Saldu {Basque.) 

' Zeal.' Kharra {Basque), C'H . r . a {Chaldce), C'H . r . e {Hebrew.) 

'Morning.' Bora {Welsh), Biar {Basque.) 

' To shine very brightly.' B . e . r {Arabic.) 






THE 



RECEIVED. 

ORIGINAL UNITY AND RECENT ORIGIN 

OF 

THE HUMAN RACE, 

SHOWN BY LANGUAGES. 



PLAN OF THIS INVESTIGATION. 

LORD BACON'S PRINCIPLES APPLICABLE TO INQUIRIES 
INTO THE ORIGIN AND CHANGES OF HUMAN LAN- 
GUAGES. 

The fanciful theories in which even some of the most dis- 
tinguished writers have deemed themselves at liberty to in- 
dulge, when they have entered upon the field of Philological 
research, have naturally tended to create, among men of calm 
and dispassionate minds, a general distrust in the results of 
all inquiries into the origin and early history of human lan- 
guages. But it must be obvious that the errors into which the 
first inquirers on this — as on every other — subject have been 
betrayed is not a fair test of the attention due to Philological 
investigations. In this, as in every branch of human know- 
ledge, the authenticity of the results must be tested solely 
with reference to the principles appealed to, and the weight, 
amount, and consistency of the evidence adduced. In this, 
as in every other branch of knowledge, the value of those re- 
sults must depend solely on the interest and importance of 
the truths which such results may involve. 

1 



2 PLAN OF THIS INVESTIGATION. 

In the following pages are developed proofs of two leading 
propositions, viz. : 

1. That the languages of the continents of Asia, Europe, 

Africa, and America, were originally the same. 

2. That the differences which exist between the individual 

languages of those continents may be explained con- 
sistently with the proofs of original unity, by causes 
still in operation. 

In this place, the principles appealed to in elucidation of 
these propositions may be explained with advantage. 

1 . As regards the proofs adduced of the original unity of 
the languages of the four continents. 

These proofs are in no instance founded upon speculation 
or surmise. They consist in every instance, either of a com- 
parison of terms absolutely identical in sound and sense, or 
of terms, of w T hich the mutual connexion is equally certain, 
in accordance with those principles, wdth respect to which 
philosophical writers on language are agreed. Terms be- 
longing to two different continents have been compared in 
those instances only, in which the affinities are of the same 
nature, as those which have been shown to be characteristic 
of words belonging to different dialects of the same lan- 
guage, in the writings of Court Ghebelin, Home Tooke, 
Adam Smith, Dugald Stewart, Humboldt, and Du Ponceau. 
These great writers do not belong to the class of Philological 
speculators, but to that of authorities on the origin and mu- 
tations of human tongues. 

Hence it follows that the leading doctrine laid down by 
Lord Bacon as applicable to the investigations of Physical 
science applies equally in this instance to the researches of 



PLAN OF THIS INVESTIGATION. 6 

the Philologist; I allude to the following fundamental maxim: 
Experience is the only legitimate guide to Truth ; hence an 
accurate investigation of those facts which are within the 
limits of our historical knowledge, forms the only admissible 
basis of deduction, with respect to those facts which are be- 
yond the range of our actual experience. 

2. Not less applicable is the same maxim in elucidation of 
the second proposition, viz. : " That the differences 
which exist between individual languages may be 
explained, consistently with the proofs of original 
unity, by causes still in operation." 

This principle may be applied in the following manner : 

There are certain languages of which the original unity can 
be proved, either by the extrinsic evidence of history, or by 
the gradual approximation they display as we ascend from 
modern to earlier epochs, and compare modern with ancient 
specimens. We can show, by means of the like evidence, the 
progressive changes they have undergone, and the nature of 
the existing differences which have been the result of those 
changes. 

There is another class of languages which came into 
existence during periods with regard to which we do not pos- 
sess the light of history ; and the only source from which we 
can draw our conclusions, with respect to the relations that 
originally existed between them, is the internal evidence af- 
forded by the composition and structure of those languages 
themselves. History being silent, this is the only clue by 
which we can determine whether they were originally dis- 
tinct, or derived from a common source. 

But by what rules are we to be guided in the deductions 
we may form from the mere texture of dialects of the second 
class ? 






PLAN OF THIS INVESTIGATION. 



The answer is, that the rules to be pursued in forming our 
conclusions, with respect to the original relations of 
those languages which can not be historically traced to 
their source, must be drawn from the experience fur- 
nished by that class of languages of which the tran- 
sitions can be traced by means of the independent 
evidence of history. 

It will be shown that the existing relations between these 
two different classes of languages are, and therefore we may 
infer that the original relations were, the same. 

By the adoption of these principles of investigation as re- 
gards both: 1, The Resemblances, and also 2, The Dif- 
ferences, which Human Tongues display, the great maxim of 
Lord Bacon's philosophy will become legitimately applicable 
to language, and the researches of the Philologist may be 
directed by the same criteria, and his conclusions vindicated 
by the same tests as those which apply to the investigations 
of the inquirer into Physical phenomena. 

It is upon these principles that I propose to conduct the 
inquiry of which the results are embodied in these pages. 



CHAPTER I. 



ON THE EVIDENCE FURNISHED BY A COMPARISON OF 
THEIR LANGUAGES OF THE ORIGINAL, UNITY OF THE 
VARIOUS NATIONS OF THE CONTINENTS OF ASIA, 
EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 



Absolute Identity of the Languages of the Four 
Continents when compared collectively. 

Illustrations from the Names of the Gods of Egypt, 
Greece, Italy, and India, showing the Origin of 
Idolatry. 

North American Indian Names for " The Great Spirit/ 5 

The proposition which forms the subject of this Chapter 
will be supported through the course of this work by the 
progressive development of a series of various but mutually 
connected proofs, which — both by their individual force, and 
by their harmonious combination, — will be found to be con- 
clusive. 

But of these proofs there is only one branch which admits 
of being conveniently adverted to in this place. I allude to 
the evidence collected in Appendix A, in the form of a " Com- 
parison of the most Common Terms in the African, Asiatic, 
European and American languages/ 5 This comparison, though 
composing only a part of the proofs adduced, will be found 
to involve in itself evidence sufficient to establish the sug- 



O ORIGINAL UNITY OF THE LANGUAGES OF 

gested conclusion. Moreover, the evidence therein em- 
bodied, — though copious in details, and strictly conforming to 
the principles laid down by philosophical writers on language, 
is simple in its nature and results, which may readily be ap- 
preciated by inquirers totally unaccustomed to philological 
investigations. For these reasons, the comparison instituted 
in Appendix A forms an appropriate subject of examination 
at the commencement of this work. 

Here, however, it must be premised that it will be impos- 
sible, without a complete perusal, to form a correct appre- 
ciation either of the facts or of the consequences developed 
in that Appendix. The explanations I shall present in this 
place must be viewed, therefore, in the light of a general and 
imperfect outline only. These explanations will be directed 
to— 

I. The Nature, 
II. The Results of the Comparison contained in Appendix A. 

I. Of the Nature of the Comparison in Appendix A. 

The languages of Africa have been chosen as the basis or 
subject of comparison with which the languages of the other 
three continents have been collated. 

This arrangement has been dictated by a consideration of 
the comparatively slight attention which has hitherto been 
paid to the languages of the Central and Southern Regions 
of Africa ; and also by the peculiar physiology of the Negro 
and Hottentot tribes, which has induced some physiologists 
to refer the origin of these tribes to Races totally distinct from 
the other Families of mankind. 

The extensive researches of Dr. Prichard have satisfacto- 
rily shown that the peculiarities of the Negroes and Hottentots 
are not permanent nor abruptly marked, but local and evane- 



ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 7 

scent, and that they melt away by nice shades of gradation, 
corresponding with the minute progressive transitions of 
climate that are traceable through the various regions of the 
African continent. Hence the possibility of the identity of 
the Negro and Hottentot Tribes with the inhabitants of the 
other three great continents maybe clearly inferred. But no 
evidence has yet been produced calculated to establish this 
conclusion as a positive truth. This desideratum the aid of 
philology will be found satisfactorily to supply. 

In the North of Africa the physiological difficulties which 
are encountered in the Middle and South do not exist to the 
same extent in any instance, and in most instances they can 
scarcely be said to exist at all. The Berbers — the original 
population of Morocco and the adjoining countries, the lineal 
descendants of the ancient Numidians— approach very closely 
to the Spanish population of the opposite coasts of the 
Mediterranean ; and the Egyptians in the north-east of Africa 
are much more alike to the contiguous Asiatic nations than 
they are to the Negro Tribes. Hence it follows that the 
theory that the Negroes and Southern Africans are distinct 
Races of men, may be as decisively tested by a comparison 
of their languages with those of the Northern Africans, as by 
collating them with the languages of the other continents of 
the globe. 

The mode of comparison adopted in Appendix A, has been 
dictated by these considerations. Accordingly, I have therein 
separated the languages of Africa into three divisions, those 
of: 1, North Africa; 2, Negro-land; 3, South Africa; allot- 
ting a separate column to each division ; while on the opposite 
page a separate column is devoted to each of the continents 
of Asia, Europe, and America. This comparison will serve 
at once to show the general connexion of the African lan- 
guages with those of Asia, Europe, and America, and at the 
same time to demonstrate another proposition of nearly equal 



8 ORIGINAL. UNITY OF THE LANGUAGES OF 

interest, viz. the close mutual affinity of the languages of 
Northern, Tropical, and Southern Africa. 

With respect to the particular words selected for com- 
parison, I have chosen the names for the following objects : 
" Fire, Sun, Day, Eye,* Moon, Heaven, a Human Being, 
Man and Woman/ 5 (Homo, Vir, Fcemina, Latin.) The most 
important parts of the Human Frame, (viz. " The Hand, Arm, 
Foot, Leg, Ear, Tongue, Head.")* 'Water.' 

These terms comprise nearly all the specimens of the lan- 
guages of Africa, which have been collected in " the Mithri- 
dates," of Adelung and Vater. The objects to which these 
terms have been applied are comparatively few. But for 
reasons about to be explained, the evidence which may be 
deduced from the terms themselves is neither scanty nor im- 
perfect, but, on the contrary, very extensive and complete. 

The African names for the above-mentioned objects analysed 
in Appendix A, amount to about 700. The corresponding 
and analogous terms introduced from the other three Con- 
tinents are about treble that number. 

In determining the mutual relations of different languages, 
it is obviously not necessary to compare the whole of their 
component parts. All that is required is a comparison of 
such portions of each as may be justly viewed in the light of 
a satisfactory test. That the selected specimens of the lan- 
guages of Africa are sufficiently numerous for this end is plain. 
It only remains to be shown that their nature is such as to 
render them eminently suitable and conclusive. 

Now it will be clear from the following considerations, that 
these specimens are peculiarly calculated to serve as a decisive 
test of the general composition and structure of languages. 



* The African names for ( The Nose' do not occur in Appendix A, but they 
are noticed elsewhere in this work. The names for * The Eye' are explained 
among words for ' The Sun,' &c. of which they are generally derivatives. 



ASIA; EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 9 

Terms for the Objects above enumerated will be found 
to include the greatest portion of the primary elements 
of all languages.* 
This proposition may be placed in the clearest light by 
means even of comparatively modern languages, for both 
modern and ancient tongues will be found principally to con- 
sist of the following elements : 

1. The nouns above mentioned. Such nouns are in fact 
the names of the most familiar and conspicuous objects ; of 
those objects which are common to all ages and countries. 

Verbs descriptive of the functions of such objects. 

2. Names of Animals and Birds. 

3. Names of Rivers, the Ocean, Hills, and Mountains. 

4. Words expressive of Mental Qualities and Emotions. 

5. Pronouns and other Conventional Grammatical Forms. 

1. Now, with the exception of the second, all these five classes 
of words may be shown to be mere modifications of those of 
the 1st class. 

2. Moreover, as regards even the Second Class, names of 
Animals and Birds, terms of this description are also in a 
great number, perhaps in the majority of instances compounds 
chiefly consisting of terms of the First Class, viz-, of the words 
for the i Members of the Body/ for ' Water, Fire/ &c, as in 
c Red-breast/ 'Water-wag tail* (English). Sgyvarn-og 'a 
Hare/ from Sgyvarn ( an Ear' ( Welsh). 

There are, it is true, some terms of this class of a more 
primitive origin, as they plainly consist of imitations of the 
characteristic cry or note of the Animal or Bird named, as for 
example c Cuck-oo 5 (English); ' U-iu-la' (Sivedish), 6 U-lu- 
1-aka' (Sanscrit), ' An Owl. 5 But then it is plain that words 

* The terms for the Domestic Relations are in some instances compound 
words — in others they seem to be identical with the Names of the Human Race. 



10 ORIGINAL UNITY OF THE LANGUAGES OF 

of this kind are for the most part confined in their application 
to the objects designated and do not enter largely into the 
composition of languages. 

3. Words for l Rivers' and ' The Ocean' consist of terms 
for < Water.' 

For example : ' The Esk' is from Eask (Irish), and Esseg 
(Bongolan, North Africa), ' Water.' c The Usk' or f Ou-isg,' 
as the word is pronounced by the Welsh, from Uisge, e Water' 
(Irish), connected with Eask (Irish). e The Ayr' is identical 
with A . r. e A River/ also e To flow^ (Hebrew), 'The Yarrow' 
with Iaro (Egyptian), and the Hebrew words Ee . a . ou. r 
Ee . a . r (modifications of A . r, Hebrew). Some able Celtic 
scholars have attempted to explain the origin of such names 
as ' Ayr and Yarrow,' which are very common as names of 
rivers in Celtic countries, by means of a Celtic term which 
means e Gentle,' an explanation very inapplicable in many ' 
instances. The error of these writers arises from the as- 
sumption they are prone to adopt, that the Celtic is an I 
unchanged language, the truth being that the changes which 
it can be shown to have undergone in more recent times, 
form a distinct ground for the conclusion that, long prior to 
the earliest period to which our most ancient Celtic speci- 
mens can be referred, the Celts must have lost many words I 
which their forefathers brought with them from the East. 

In the names above noticed, not only the general features, 
but the finer shades of inflection of the Oriental words re- 
appear. 

Numerous examples may be pointed out, of words applied 
in some languages to ' Water' generally, appropriated exclu- 
sively, in others to the ' Sea or Ocean.' Thus we have Shui 
in Chinese, and Su in Turkish, e Water.' In the German See, 
the Anglo Saxon Seo Sae, the English ( Sea,' and in other 
analogous terms to be met with in all the Gothic tongues, we 






ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 11 

recognize the same term as a word for a ' Lake/ or for e The 
Sea.' Adelung has pointed out the resemblance which in 
some other instances the Turkish bears to the German. 
The ancestors of the Turks and Germans, it maybe observed, 
are both traceable to contiguous regions of Northern Asia, 
the great e High Road of Nations' from China to Europe. 

Again, in various dialects of the North American Indians 
we meet with Oghnacauno, Oneekanoosh, &c. * Water.' In 
Latin and Greek we find the same term tf Ocean-os,Ocean-oio', 
&c, applied exclusively to ' The Ocean.' (See for other ex- 
amples Appendix A, p. 77.) 

Words for Mountains and Hills are almost universally 
identical with words for c The Head, The Back, The Breast,' 
&c. Thus even in the English, in which the first meanings 
of words are often lost, we have ( Ridge' (A Back and A Hill), 
' Head-land,' 'Saddle-back' (the name of a mountain.) In 
the Principality of Wales, in which a less changed and a less 
conventional language prevails, the common names for hills, 
{ Cevn, Pen, Vron,' &c, are words for ' The Back, The Head, 
The Breast,' &c, appropriated according to the particular 
shapes of the hills. The same words, as will appear here- 
after, were used as names of mountains in ancient Gaul and 
Spain, &c. 

Jugum, 'A Yoke and A Hill/ {Latin,) Cadair Idris, 'The 
chair of Idris,' A Fabulous Giant and Astronomer, ( Welsh,) 
are instances of metaphors of a different kind. But generally 
names of hills are traceable as above described, and are 
therefore mere forms of terms belonging to the first class. 

4. That terms of this Class, viz. : Words descriptive of the 
Operations and Emotions of the Mind, consist of metaphors 
derived from words originally appropriated to physical ob- 
jects and agencies, has been indisputably proved by the cele- 
brated French writer, Court Ghebelin, and by Home Tooke, 



12 ORIGINAL UNITY OF THE LANGUAGES OF 

whose researches were applied to the analysis of the English 
language only. Words appropriated to the members of 
the Human Frame and their Functions, and other terms of 
the First Class, are the chief sources of these metaphorical 
terms. 

This philological maxim was supposed by some of the most 
eminent of those writers by whom it was established, to fur- 
nish an argument in favour of the doctrines of Materialism, 
as when, for example, the English word ' Spirit 5 was derived 
from the Latin word for e Breath,' Spiritus. But the pre- 
mises do not appear to furnish any solid support to the infer- 
ences they were thought to favour. The same Consciousness 
which in this case, and in other similar instances, perceives 
an analogy, perceives also that the connexion is one of ana- 
logy only. The true explanation of the relations which exist 
between these two classes of words may, I conceive, be de- 
rived from the consideration, that though Man is endowed with 
moral and intellectual, as well as with perceptive, faculties, — 
inasmuch as the perceptive powers are earliest exercised, — 
the language of his higher sentiments consists of metaphors 
thence borrowed. ( The Hand,' in like manner, as may be 
inferred from several examples which occur in the course of 
this work, has, in many instances, metaphorically given names 
to some of the less conspicuous bodily organs of perception. 
At the same time, the soundness of the philological principle 
developed by Ghebelin and Home Tooke can not reasonably 
be disputed. In these pages will be found numerous illus- 
trations of its truth. Moreover it will appear that this prin- 
ciple forms the basis of some of the most convincing proofs — 
that languages afford — of the common origin of nations very re- 
motely situated from each other, as of the Welsh and English, 
for example, with the Hebrew, and other ancient Syro-Phce- 
nician nations. 



ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 13 

5. As regards Pronouns and other Grammatical Forms. 

Pronouns enter very largely into the composition of lan- 
guages, not merely in a separate form, but also as the source 
from which the most striking peculiarities of other parts of 
grammar have been derived. It has been shown by Dr. 
Prichard that the various inflections which distinguish the 
different persons of the Verb in the Latin and Sanscrit, 
and other highly-complicated languages of the same class, 
are identical with pronouns. 

In the works of Home Tooke and others it has been abun- 
dantly shown that Pronouns are merely Nouns, viz Names 
of the Human Species, 6 Man, Woman,' &c. In other words 
they belong to a section of the terms of the First Class. 

Hence it will be manifest that an analysis, completely em- 
bracing numerous specimens of nouns of the First Class, vir- 
tually embraces also numerous specimens of words of the 
Four other classes, which, together with the First, compose 
the principal elements of Human Language. For it must be 
observed that 

Though the African nouns belonging to the First Class 
form the only basis or subject of inquiry, the in- 
quiry itself will be found to embrace an extended 
comparison of those nouns with the kindred terms of 
the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Classes, which are dis- 
coverable in the languages of the other three conti- 
tinents. 
Finally, a principle must here be stated and applied, which 
will be more fully illustrated hereafter. 

The names of Objects can be shown in a great va- 
riety of instances to be identical with Verbs or terms 
descriptive of some dominant or conspicuous quality 
which those Objects display. 



14 ORIGINAL UNITY OF THE LANGUAGES OF 

This remark applies even to the terms for the Members of 
the Human Frame, and other Objects of which the names 
are included in the First Class of Words, — as appears by abun- 
dant illustrations in works of authority and research confined 
to an investigation of the European languages. But the same 
truth may be much more clearly and unequivocally demon- 
strated even by the most cursory examination of more ancient 
and therefore more primitive tongues, such as the Hebrew 
and the Sanscrit. The application of this principle will be 
found to unfold a wide range of facts serving to connect the 
languages of Africa with those of the other Continents; 
the same terms, which present themselves as Nouns or Con- 
ventional names in the languages of Africa, occurring in 
a great variety of examples in those of the other continents, 
unaltered or very slightly changed in sound, fulfilling the 
functions of the corresponding descriptive terms or verbs. 
Here it may be remarked that the descriptive or metaphorical 
character, which originally belonged to nouns, and the various 
modes in which the same objects are susceptible of descrip- 
tion, may be viewed as the source of these numerous names 
for the same objects. But this is a subject which will be 
more fully discussed in a subsequent part of this work. 

The following examples will serve to illustrate at once the 
principle last stated, and also another principle before sug- 
gested, viz. that c The Hand 5 * and its perceptions have me- 
taphorically given namesin many instances — not only to the 
faculties of the Mind, — but also to the other perceptive organs 
and their functions. For further illustrations, see Appendix 
A, p. 65, and the subsequent pages. 



• Probably the terms were not in all cases appropriated in the first instance to 
the Hand exclusively, but applied alike to all the perceptive organs. 



ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 



15 



Tom, (Heb.) ' To try,' 

1 To try an experiment,' 
' To perceive.' 



'To taste/ 
'To eat/ 



Tom, 'The Hand,' (Mexico.) 



Tedembeton, 'The Hand,' 

(Nubia.) 
Thumb (Eng.), Damn, (Ger.) 
Teim-law, 'To Feel,' (Welsh) 

Tamma, 'The Tongue/ 

(Hottentots.) 



— ' Mental Taste/ 

— 'Discernment/ 

— ■ Judgment/ 



Tami-as, A Judge, (Greek.) 
Doomsday, S^ °' 



G.sh.(/M.), 'Tofeelfor.' Guess, (Eng.) See below, 

K . s . m, (Heb.) 

G . sh . sh . (Heb.), ' To feel Gus-to, ' To taste, To listen/ 
for repeatedly,' (Latin.) 

'To grope for' - - Kchesi, 'The Hand/ 

(Finland.) 
Keez, 'The Hand/ 

( Hungarian.) 

K . s . m . (Heb.), " To guess Keisio, ' To seek, To attempt, 
hidden things,' Endeavour/ (Welsh.) 

'To divine/ 
'Toforetel.' 



These examples instructively display the manner in which 
the Hebrew, which is a language of high antiquity, combines 
within itself a variety of meanings, which are found only par- 
tially preserved in more modern languages. This venerable 
tongue may be said in these, as in numerous other instances, 
to confirm, by means of its own intrinsic resources, the re- 
sults which are deducible from a wide comparison of other 
languages of which our specimens are more modern, 



16 ORIGINAL UNITY OF THE LANGUAGES OF 

II. Of the Results of the Comparison, contained in Ap- 
pendix A. 
When the languages of Africa are compared collectively 
with those of the other three Continents, it will be found : 

1. That the names of the most Common Objects, occurring 
in the various dialects of Africa, may be detected, and as it 
were restored, in the same or in kindred senses in each of the 
other three Continents, when all or a considerable portion of 
their languages are examined. 

2. The exceptions to this principle are so insignificant, 
that the rule, viewed in the light of a philological maxim, may 
be regarded as universal, especially when it is borne in mind 
that the specimens we possess of the various languages of 
Mankind are undoubtedly incomplete. 

3. A further remarkable truth is established by Appendix 
A, viz. : 

The resemblances which the African languages display to 
those of Asia, &c , are as close as those which the Asiatic lan- 
guages exhibic among themselves; and they are as close as 
those which the languages termed Indo-European mutually 
display. 

4. What has been stated in the previous explanation of 
Result 3 applies to the languages of the continent of America 
as well as to those of Africa. 

5. Not only the same words but the same minute tran- 
sitions which words undergo may be recognized in the Four 
Continents, and the steps of transition are much more com- 
pletely traceable when the various Continents form the sub- 
ject of comparison than when the investigation is confined to 
one Continent. Compare, for example, (See Appendix A, 
p. 13,) Ano, f ADay' (Caraihs) ; Antu, Antu, 'The Sun, 
A Day 5 (Araucan, South America) ; Antu, Andru, f A Day* 
{Madagascar, South Africa); Indra, The Indian < God of 
Day' (Sanscrit, Asia) ; Inti, Indi, f The Sun' (South America). 



ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 17 

6. It will be seen that in this instance, and in numerous 
other examples, finer shades of transition are restored by 
means of a comparison including the Four Continents. 

7. As regards the Continent of Africa, by this comparison 
all its synonymes of the class selected for analysis have, with 
a few trifling exceptions, been exhausted. As regards the 
other three Continents, so large a portion, probably the great 
majority, of these synonymes have been introduced from 
every region of those continents, that the evidence thus ob- 
tained, combined as it is with a complete investigation of the 
African terms, may be considered as equally conclusive with 
the proofs which would have been furnished by an exhaustion 
of the synonymes of all the four continents. 

The examination of synonymous terms is the principle 
which has been pursued by Humboldt, in his work on f The 
Basque,' and by Du Ponceau in his Treatise on the ' Algon- 
quyn Dialects of the North American Indians/ It is the 
most satisfactory mode of investigating languages, because it 
involves an explanation of the differences as well as of the re- 
semblances they mutually display. 

8. Hence it follows that when all the dialects of each con- 
tinent are thus compared in the aggregate with those of each 
of the other three, the very same language is reproduced by 
the reunion of the "disjecta membra" 

With reference more especially to the third and fourth 
results above stated, I may here advert to the researches 
of two philologists of the highest eminence, whose conclusions 
will not, in the present state of philological knowledge, be 
disputed, — the German writer Klaproth, and Dr. Prichard : 
the former has treated of the proofs of affinity observable 
among the Asiatic languages ; the latter has discussed the 
proofs of mutual resemblance displayed by certain languages 
usually classed under the term " Indo-European/' 

The affinities which present themselves among the different 

2 



18 ORIGINAL UNITY OF THE LANGUAGES OF 

languages of the single continent of Asia, in the following 
examples, have been selected as evidence of the original con- 
nexion of those languages by Klaproth. 

Words for 'The Sun/ 

Asia. — Chor Churr (Ossetian.) 

Chor Chorschid (Persian.) 
Chorschid (Pehlwi), Huere (Zend.)* 

America. — Coaracy, Curasi, Quarassi (Brazil.) 

Africa* — 'Koara (Bosjesmans.) 

South Africa. — Giro (Kanga, Negro-land.) 

Though the Zend, Pehlwi, and Persian are three kindred 
dialects of Persia, it will be observed that the Pehlwi and 
Persian words in this example, although clearly allied to the 
corresponding Zend word ( Huere), resemble that word less 
than they do the American and African terms. On the other 
hand, the next example presents to us American and African 
words perfectly identical with this term (Huere). 



Words for 'The Sun 5 and 'Day. 5 

Asia. — Huere, 'The Sun, 5 (Zend.) 

S.America. — Huarassi, 'The Sun 5 and 'Day,' (Omaguans.) 
Africa. — Hor, Horus, i.e. 'The God of Day, 5 (Egypt.) 
Huer, ' Day, 5 (Iolofs, Negro-land.) 

Asia.— Eiere,t 'Day, 5 (Zend.) 
Africa. — Iirri, 'The Sun, 5 (Watvu, Negro-land.) 
The connexion between the previous words for the Sun 
and the first of the two following classes of terms for the 



* Klaprotb's Asia Polyglotta. 

+ Eiere (< Day/ Zend,) is obviously connected with Huere (' The Sun,' Zend." 



ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 19 

Moon will be manifest. The origin of the relation which is 
universally traceable between the names of the two great 
Heavenly Luminaries will be found fully discussed in Ap- 
pendix A. 

Words for 'The Moon/ 
Asia, — 'Wiri Yere Irri\S amoied),W\irra(Sumbava Island.)* 
Africa, Negro-land. — 'Uhaaire Verr' (Iolofs.) 

Asia. — 'Sara' [Syrian), 'Sara' [Mongol and Calmuck.)* 
Africa, Negro-land. — 'Assara' (Gold Coast.) 

Dr. Prichard has clearly proved the connexion of the 
Welsh and other Celtic dialects with the Sanscrit and other 
' Indo-European' tongues, a class in which he considers that 
the Celtic dialects ought therefore to be included. The 
Welsh and Sanscrit words which occur in Appendix A, p. 11, 
have already been compared by him in his work on the 
Celtic Languages. The mutual connexion of these words 
is clear. But it will be equally manifest that the African 
terms which occur in the same passage, Appendix A, p. 11, 
are quite as nearly allied to the Welsh words as are the 
Sanscrit terms with which those words have been collated by 
Dr. Prichard. In some instances they are even more so. 
Compare, for example, ' Lloer,' The Moon, ( Welsh,) with the 
African word c Leoure,' The Moon, (from the dialect of the 
; Fulahs.') 

An examination of the names of some of the principal gods 
of Egypt, Greece, Italy, and India, by means of a comparison 
of the languages of all the Four Continents, will be found in a 
very striking manner to illustrate at once the foregoing phi- 
lological results, and also the origin of those names, and of 
the systems of Idolatry to which they belonged. 

* Klaproth's Asia Polyglotta, p. 36. 



20 ORIGINAL UNITY OF THE LANGUAGES OF 

Hor . Hor-us, 'The God of Day/ {Egypt,) already ex- 
plained. 

Indra, The Indian c God of Day/ previously explained. 

Surya, The Indian ' God of the Sun/ His Orb personi- 
fied, (Sanscrit.) Osira Osiri, and Serap-is or Sorop-is, 
(believed to have been the same as Osiri,) ' Gods of the Sun/ 
(Egypt.) 

The same change of inflection which is observable when 
c Surya and Osira 5 are compared with Sero-p-is, occurs in the 
following : 

Surie, Sorrie, Sorre, Sore, ' The Sun/ (Hottentots.) 
Sor oh-b, 'The Sun/ (Corona Hottentots.) 
The same change occurs also in the following : 
Z.e.r, 'To shine brightly/ Sh.r.-ph, 'To burn/ 
Sh . r-ph eem, ' Seraphs/ ( Hebrew.) 

Auror-Aj ' T he Goddess of The Dawn/ (Latin.) 

A.ou.r, ' Light, Day-light, (Hebrew.) 

Wadar, 'The Dawn/ (Welsh.) 

Or, 'Day,' Ar-pi, 'The Sun/ (Armenian.) 

W ura be, 'Day/ (Nubia.) 

E - o-us, One of the Horses of the Sun, Eo-s (E 6, E 6 a, 
Accusative,) s The Sun, The Dawn, The Goddess' ' of The 
Dawn,' (Greek.) 

Eoohu, Haou, 'Day/ (Egypt.) Uwya Ou, 'The Sun/ 
(Negroes.) Hueiou, 'The Sun/ (Caraibs, South America.) 
Au-6, 'To shine/ (Greek.) 

Net-phe, 'The Goddess of the Heaven or Firmament/ 

(Egypt.) 

Neth-phe Ne-phe ou, 'The Heavens or Heaven/ (Egi/pt.) 
Nev, 'Heaven/ (Welsh.) Nebo, ' Heaven/ (Sclavoiiian.) 



ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 21 

Ere and A e r (Greek), 'The Goddess of The Heaven 
or Atmosphere,' ' Juno.' 

Iru, ' Heaven,' (Negroes,) Awyr, 'The Sky,' (Welsh,) Atr, 
(Latin), ' Air/ (English.) 

Juno (Latin), the same as the last. She was also re- 
garded as 'The Mother of the Gods.' (See this name ex- 
plained by means of Sanscrit and Negro words combined, 
Appendix A, p. 62.) 

Khem, A God of ■ The Sun/ (Egypt.) 
K au m-et, 'The Sun/ K au m-ei, 'The Moon/ (Greenland.) 
C'.h . m . n . -ee . n, ' Sun Images/ (Hebrew.) 
C'h.m/ Hot, Heat/ (Hebrew.) 

Ee ph-aist-os (Greek), 'Vulcan/ 'The God of Fire/ 
Aifi, ' Fire/ (Sumbava,) Fi (Japan), and Fei (Siam), 
* Fire/ Epee, ' Fire/ (Katabans, North America,) Peez Pioc, 
'Fire/ {Moxians, South America,) Ee. ph . c'h, and Ph . ou . c'h, 
'To blow upon,' 'Kindle/ ■ Inflame/ (Hebrew.) 

Phoi-b-os (Greek), 'The God of the Sun, Phoebus.' 

" This word (' Phoibos') expresses the brightness and splen- 
dour of that luminary." (Lempriere.) 

Pha-6, 'To Shine/ (Greek.) 

Ee . ph . 6, « To shine forth/ (Hebrew,) ' Brightness, Splen- 
dour/ (Chald.) Ee . ph . ph . e, 'Very Beautiful/ (Hebrew.) 

Phos, ' Light/ (Greek.) 

Fosseye, ' The Sun/ (' Sereres' Negroes.) 

Phos, ' A Star/ (Japan.) 

The foregoing are merely examples of the mode in which 
the names of the Heathen Deities are susceptible of explana- 
tion, by means of a general comparison of languages. In the 
course of this work, the names of nearly all the principal 



22 ORIGINAL UNITY OF THE LANGUAGES OF 

Gods of Egypt, Greece, Italy, and India, will be explained in 
the same manner. 

The North American Indians are not Idolaters. They 
worship a ' Great' and ( Good Spirit.' They also believe in 
an ' Evil Spirit/ 

A large class of Indian dialects have been analysed by Du 
Ponceau, a writer whose high philosophical reputation, great 
candour, and perfect knowledge of the dialects he examined, 
render his researches eminently deserving of attention. In 
early youth he was secretary to Court Ghebelin. But though 
a native of France, he passed the principal part of his life in 
the United States, in the employment of the Government of 
that country. His essay on the £ Algonquyn Dialects of North 
America,' was elicited from him at a very advanced period of 
life by a prize offered in Paris, for which he was the successful 
competitor. By means of his familiar acquaintance with the 
languages of the Indian Tribes, it is related that he proved a 
person, whose arrative at one time excited considerable in- 
terest both in this country and in France to be an impostor ; 
Hunter, the author of a work professing to give an authentic 
account of his captivity among the Indian Tribes. In his 
treatise on those languages, though for the most part he de- 
clines to generalize and professes to wish rather to furnish data 
for others, Du Ponceau expresses himself nevertheless, de- 
cidedly adverse to the views of those writers who conceive the 
Indian Tribes to be descendants of colonists from the Asiatic 
continent. The Indians and their languages he views as in- 
digenous products of the American soil. After alluding in 
general terms of respect to the memory of that celebrated 
writer, he assails with national vivacity Grotius's conclusion 
with respect to the primitive language, which forms the motto 
of this work, quoting from Dante a passage in which it is 
intimated that the primitive language of Man must have 
perished at the < General Deluge !> 



ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 23 

More ample proofs of the connexion of the dialects ex- 
amined by Du Ponceau with those of the Old World, occur 
hereafter. In this place I must confine myself to one re- 
markable example. 

With reference to the names given by the Indians to the 
great object of their worship, Du Ponceau states the result 
of his analysis to be that the names of the Supreme Being in 
all the Indian dialects he has explored, primarily mean e a 
Spirit/ But there is one instance, he adds, in which he has 
not been able to verify this conclusion, viz. in that of the 
dialect of the Abenaki tribe. It is true, he remarks, that 
6 Father Raffles 5 had made a statement tending to show that 
in this instance there was no exception to the general rule he 
(Du Ponceau) had adopted, for, according to Father Raffles, 
in the dialect of the Abenaki the name of the Supreme Being 
was Ketsi Niou eskou, and these words K etsi 'Nioueskou,' 
mean the Great ' Spirit' ■ or Genius ;' while the name of the 
Evil Being was Matsi c Nioueskou,' and these terms mean the 
Evil ' Spirit or Genius/ 

But Du Ponceau intimates that he has not been able by 
means of his own researches to satisfy himself of the accuracy 
of Father Raffles's statement, as to the origin of these words, 
and he adds, " I do not know whence this word ( Ni oueskou' 
comes." (" Je ne sais pas d'ou vient ce mot Nioueskou/') 

Among the specimens he has published of words used in 
the Iroquois dialects, a class of Indian languages which he 
has not minutely analysed, Du Ponceau gives e N s iou' as the 
name of ' the Deity/ 

Now the following comparison exhibits the remarkable fact 
that these words ( N' iou' and ( Nioueskou' may be distinctly 
and extensively recognized in the languages of the old world, 
in the very sense which, according to Father Raffles, was the 
primitive meaning of e Nioueskou' among the Abenaki tribe 
of Indians, viz., in that of ' a Spirit or Genius.' They also 
reappear in physical meanings, which, according to Home 



24 



ORIGINAL, UNITY OF THE LANGUAGES OF 



Tooke's principles, may, a priori, be pronounced to be philo- 
logically analogous. 

The resemblance of the Indian terms to the European and 
Asiatic words is as close as the resemblance which exists be- 
tween such words of the two latter classes as belong to the 
same languages or to the same group of languages. The va- 
riation of inflection between N'ioh and Niou-es kou, may 
also be restored; compare No- (the root or unchangeable 
part of ' Noos/) with ' No-os Nous/ 6 The Mind/ (in the 
nominative case, Gree k.) Compare also ' Nose/ {English,) 
with 'Nas-ika/ (Sanscrit.) 

Hebrew, Indo-European, and American Words applied to the 
Physical Senses. 

IND.-EUROP. & AMERICAN. 

Nos (Sclavonic), Nase, &c. 
(German and other Gothic 
tongues), Nas-ika (San.) 
Nas-us, 

Nas-um (Latin.) 
' The Nose/ (English.) 



N 



HEBREW. 

-b, N.sh.-ph, 



To 



sh 

blow/ 
N . sh . -m, ' To breathe out/ 
N.sh.-m.e, < The Breath/ 
'Man as p Breathing 
Animal'. * 
N.ph.sh, ' Breath/ 
Ee-n . sh . ou . ph, 

'A species of Water- 
fowl remarkable for 
its Hard Breathing.* 

Applied to Mental and Physical Objects. 



N .sh .-m.e ' Breath/ 
(as above) 'Life/ 
' Soul/ 
' Spirit.' 



N . ph . sh 



'Breath/ 
'Life/ 

'Mind/ 
' A Person 
Man/ 



No-os, Nou-s, (No . e . No), 
'The Mind/ (Greek.) 

N'ioh . Xioues-kou, ' The 
Genius, Spirit, God/ 
(^orth American Indian 
Dialects, as above.) 

N . ph . sh, or Nouvis, ' Full 
of Life or Spirits/ 

(Welsh). 



or 



N.ph. sh-ee, The Pronoun 'I.' 

* Parkburst's Hebrew Lexicon. 



ASIA, EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AMERICA. 25 

These examples may be concluded with a very remarkable 
instance of an important word which occurs in every one of 
the three great divisions of the globe, except America, and is 
met with in every one of the three regions of Africa. 



Words for e Bread.' 

Asia. — Buro (Savu Isle, a Malay dialect.) 

Africa. — Bouron (Fulahs, North Africa.) 
Bourou (lolofs, Negro-land.) 
Bra Bre (Hottentots, South Africa.) 

Europe. — Bara (Welsh.) Bro (Norwegian.) Bread 
(English.) Brod or Brot (German.) 

The source of these words seems to be, B . r . e, B . r . ou . th, 
' Food/ (Hebrew.) In the same language, L c'h . m, i Bread,' 
primarily means ( Food, To feed/ 

Combined with the phenomenon of the absolute identity of 
the united elements of the languages of the Four Continents, 
we encounter a wide, and in many instances a total difference, 
when two individual languages are compared. And this is 
true not merely of two languages taken from different con- 
tinents, but it is true also of languages spoken even in 
contiguous regions of the same continent. 

How then are these singular features of general unity 
combined with individual diversity to be reconciled? Of 
this problem the investigation will be found in the following 
pages. 



CHAPTER II. 



ON THE DIFFERENCES WHICH DISTINGUISH INDIVIDUAL 
LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 



Section I. 

These differences may be explained by Causes now in 
Operation. The principal causes are, The abandonment by 
different branches of the same race : 

1, Of different Synonymes; 

2, Of different meanings of the same Synonyme. 

This Section A ay be considered as confined to an affirma- 
tion of the propositions above stated. 

Section II. 

On the Differences between the Celtic and Gothic Classes of 
Languages. The Celtic and Gothic differ almost totally 
in the most Common Words. Celtic and Gothic words 
identical with Persian Synonymes. 

The Celtic and Gothic Races form the population of North- 
western and Central Europe. 

In those early ages in which the Celtic tribes first 
came into collision with the Roman legionaries, the Celtic 
language and race occupied a wide section of Europe, in- 
cluding the British islands, France, the Rhine, the whole of 
Switzerland, a portion of South-western Germany, and the 



DIFFERENCES OF INDIVIDUAL LANGUAGES, &C. 27 

North of Italy. The Celts were also in possession of some 
of the fairest regions of the Spanish Peninsula, a country 
which they shared with Iberian tribes, the ancestors of the 
Basque nation, of which a remnant still preserves among the 
fastnesses of the Pyrenean mountains the language, character, 
and institutions of their warlike forefathers. The existence 
in those ages of a Celtic population, occupying territories 
thus extensive, and the identity of their languages with the 
living tongues still spoken by the Welsh and other Celtic 
nations, have been placed beyond all doubt by the luminous 
investigations of Dr. Prichard and Humboldt. 

In the present day, the Gothic nations and languages ex- 
tend over a large section of the area of Europe, including the 
greatest portion* of Germany, the whole of Sweden, Norway, 
and Iceland, the German Cantons of Switzerland, and the 
British Isles, with the exception of those districts in which 
dialects of the Celtic are spoken. 

Of the common origin of the Celtic and Gothic tongues 
we possess no direct historical proof, for the sources of these 
languages reach far higher than the records of history. Nor, 
as I conceive, is it possible, from a comparison of these lan- 
guages themselves, to elicit a satisfactory demonstration of 
their original identity. Instances of partial resemblances 
may no doubt be pointed out ; but it will be found neverthe- 
less that in the most common corresponding terms, the Celtic 
and Gothic differ almost totally. As this is a proposition 
not generally received among philologists, 1 have subjoined 
in Appendix C some examples which will serve to render its 
truth obvious. 

The only satisfactory mode of proving the common origin 
of the Celtic and Gothic seems to be by means of the affinity 
to the languages of India, Persia, &c, which are displayed 
by both, even in those very features in which they differ most 

• Bohemia la inhabited by a Sclavonic race, cVrc. 



'28 



DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 



widely from each other. The following are examples of the 
union, in the form of Synonymes in the Persian, of corres- 
ponding terms, in which the Celtic and Gothic differ totally 

from each other. 

TABLE. 



PERSIAN. 


WELSH. 




ENGLISH. 


Made, a maid, a 






Maid. Madchen, Germ. 


female. 








Geneez, a girl. 


Geneth. 




. . 


D. ch . t.r ., a girl, i 
daughter. 


i . . 




Daughter. Tochter, Germ. 


Chouahr, a sister. 


Idem. 




. . 


Ch.d. a God. 


. . 




God. 


B . r . ee, God. 


Beree or Peree, 1 


to create, 






(spelt Peri.) 
Beri|adur, Creator. 
B.r .a. Heb. Id. 


• • 


Pechegan, infants. 


Bechgyn. 






Juvan, young. 


leuangc. 




Juvenile, from Lat. 


Braud . | r. 


Braud (Bratbair, 


Irish.) 


Brother. 


Mam, mother. 


Mam. 




, , 


M . d . r . mother. 


. . 




Mother. 


P . d . r . father. 






Pater, Lat. ; Fader, 
Aug.- Sax. 


Aud . J n. the ear. 


LATIN. 

Aud|io 
I hear. 




GREEK. 


Koush, the ear. 






A|kous o, I will hear. 

Akoustics, Eng. 


F . m . the mouth. 


(Fhuaim, a voice, 


Irish.) 


Feemjee, I speak. 



Fama, Fame, Latin 



The Persian grammar also combines many European 
languages : 



PERSIAN. 

Men, I. 
Tou, thou. 
Av, he, she, or it. 
A een, this. 
Bod|n|, to be; (n. 
infinitive affix.) 
Am, I am. 



WELSH, 

My. 

Idem, spelt Ev. 
Hyn. ; Hon. 
Bod. 



ENGLISH, 

Mine. 
Thou. 



Idem. 



LATIN. 

Me us. 
Tu. 



GERMAN. 

Mein. 
Du. 



(Eim|i , Greek.) 



This tense is very like Latin : 

Shou, be thou. Shou d (sit;, let him be. 

• Shou eem (simus), let us be. 
Shou eet (sitis), be ye. Shou nd, let them be.* 

• This comparison has been extracted from the Cambrian Quarterly Magazine. 
vol. IF., p. 183, in which it was originally published by the author of this work. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 29 



Section III. 

On the Changes which have taken place in the English Lan- 
guage. Effect of the Norman Conquest, as a Cause of 
these Changes exaggerated. Dr. Johnson's Opinion. Sir 
Walter Scott's. Speech of " Wamba" in Ivanhoe. Some 
of the most important Changes have occurred since the time 
of Chaucer. The modern English, the Provincial Dialects 
of Lancashire and other English Counties, and the Low- 
land Scotch, different Fragments of the Anglo-Saxon. The 
Provincial English Auxiliary Verb, ' I Bin,' Sfc. 

That extensive changes have taken place in many Human 
languages, within a comparatively limited period, is a truth 
of which the proofs are alike abundant and indisputable. The 
various dialects that sprang from the Latin after the down- 
fall of the Roman Empire, the emanation of numerous dia- 
lects in the Scandinavian Kingdoms from one ancient tongue, 
"The Danska Tunge" or "Norse," and finally the suc- 
cessive phases of transition through which the English lan- 
guage itself has passed since the period of the Norman 
conquest, conspire, with other examples of the same kind, at 
once to establish the occurrence of such changes, and to ex- 
hibit in a striking point of view their extraordinary variety 
and extent. 

In order to account for differences, so characteristic and 
apparently so fundamental, as many of the languages which 
are the offspring of these changes display, it has generally been 
deemed necessary to ascribe them to the agency of a violent 
disturbing cause. Hence the origin of an opinion that may 
be regarded as the prevalent one, viz. that these varieties of 
dialect have been mainly produced by the influence of Foreign 
invasions and conquests, and the consequent admixture of 



30 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

the Languages of the dominant, with those of vanquished, 
nations. 

The grounds of this conclusion may be appropriately tested 
— and its fallacy, as I conceive, satisfactorily established — in 
one single instance, which I have been naturally led to select 
as involving considerations of peculiar interest to English 
readers. I allude to the influence which the Norman con- 
quest of England is supposed to have exercised, in the pro- 
duction of those peculiar features, which distinguish the 
modern language of England from the original Anglo-Saxon 
tongue. 

The share which the Norman conquest may have had in 
the formation of those peculiarities may be best determined 
by investigating 1st the immediate, and 2d the remote, 
consequences of that event. 

On the subject of the immediate effects of the Norman 
conquest, it is highly interesting to observe that Dr. Johnson 
thus expresses himself in the following remarkable passage : 
" About the ytar 1150 the Saxon began to take a form in 
" which the beginning of the present English may be plainly 
" discovered ; this change seems not to have been the effect 
" of the Norman conquest, for very few French words are 
" found to have been introduced in the first Hundred years 
" after it ; the language must, therefore, have been altered by 
ee causes like those which, notwithstanding the care of writers 
" and societies instituted to obviate them, are even now daily 
"making innovations in every living language. I have ex- 
" hibited a specimen of the language of this age from the 
"year 1135 to 1140 of the Saxon Chronicle, of which the 
"latter part was apparently written near the time to which 
"it relates."* 

Yet Professor Rask of Copenhagen, a writer of great learn- 

* History of the English language, prefixed to Dr. Johnson's Dictionary. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 31 

ing and ability, in alluding to the changes that occurred at 
this period, attempts to account for them by vaguely attri- 
buting them to an infusion of the speech of the " old northern 
settlers/' (in other words — the Danes,) and to the ascendancy 
of the Norman French as a court language.* But the facts 
are singularly at variance with his conclusions ! The sway 
of the Danish kings had produced, as he admits, no material 
alteration in the English language, even during its con- 
tinuance ; and how then could it have done so a century after 
its termination? Nor can the ascendancy of the Norman 
Court be accepted as a satisfactory explanation of these results, 
since the changes to be accounted for did not consist in the 
adoption of Norman words, but in an internal change in the 
structure and inflections of the original Anglo-Saxon itself, 
unattended by the introduction of any Foreign admixture. 

It is obvious, then, that the conclusion of Professor Rask 
cannot be regarded as a deduction naturally suggested by 
the phenomena, with which he was so profoundly conversant, 
but must be viewed rather as a result of the influence which 
the popular and generally received opinions on the subject, 
must have exercised upon his mind. Highly instructive is 
it to mark in this instance an example of the extent to which 
even erudite and admirable philologists have frequently been 
betrayed into inconsistency and error, by the supposed ne- 
cessity of referring the revolutions which languages have 
undergone, to some abrupt and violent social revolution, with 
which, being connected in the order of events, they are also 
and not unnaturally conceived to be equally connected by 
the relation of cause and effect ! 

It may be assumed therefore, agreeably to the views of 
Dr. Johnson, that the Norman conquest had no immediate 
effect on the language of the Anglo-Saxons. It remains then 

• Rask's Anglo-Saxon Grammar, by Thorpe. Preface, p. xlvii. 



32 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

to inquire in what manner the influence of that event was 
felt at a more distant period, viz. : about a century after- 
wards, during the reigns of John and Richard Cceur de Lion, 
the period during which the intermingling of the Norman 
and Saxon races and tongues is believed to have been con- 
summated. During this period also, we possess the guidance 
of a great master, who has embodied all the philosophy of 
this subject in a few pathetic words which he has put into 
the mouth of a jester. # 

"Truly/ 5 said Wamba, without stirring from the spot, 
" I have consulted my legs upon this matter, and they are 
" altogether of opinion, that to carry my gay garments 
" through these sloughs would be an act of unfriendship to 
" my sovereign person and royal wardrobe ; wherefore Gurth, 
" I advise thee to call off Fangs, and leave the herd to their 
" destiny, which, whether they meet with bands of travelling 
" soldiers, or of outlaws, or of wandering pilgrims, can be 
" little else than to be converted into Normans before morn- 
" ing to thy no & nail ease and comfort." 

"The swine turned Normans to my comfort," quoth 
Gurth ; " expound that to me, Wamba, for my brain is too 
dull, and my mind too vexed, to read riddles." 

"Why, how call you those grunting brutes running about 
" on their four legs 1" demanded Wamba. 

" Swine, fool, swine/' said the herd ; " every fool knows 
" that." 

"And swine is good Saxon," said the Jester; "but how 
"call you the sow when she is flayed, and drawn, and 
" quartered, and hung by the heels, like a traitor?" 

" Pork," answered the swineherd. 

* Mr. Lockhart has given an interesting account of the origin of Sir Walter 
Scott's views on this subject as expressed in the passages quoted above. They 
were first suggested by a friend whose attention had been much directed to sub- 
jects of this nature. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 33 

u I am very glad every fool knows that too/' said Wamba, 
" and Pork, I think, is good Norman- French ; and so when 
" the brute lives, and is in the charge of a Saxon slave, she 
" goes by her Saxon name ; but becomes a Norman, and is 
" called Pork, when she is carried to the Castle-hall to feast 
* among the nobles. What dost thou think of this, friend 
"Gurth, ha? 5 ' 

" It is but too true doctrine, friend Wamba, however it got 
" into thy fooPs pate \" 

" Nay, I can tell you more," said Wamba, in the same 
tone. u There is old Alderman Ox continues to hold his 
" Saxon epithet, while he is under the charge of serfs and 
u bondmen such as thou, but becomes Beef, a fiery French 
"gallant, when he arrives before the worshipful jaws that 
" are destined to consume him. e Mynheer Calf/ too, be- 
" comes c Monsieur de Veau,' in the like manner : he is 
" Saxon when he requires tendance, and takes a Norman 
"name when he becomes matter of enjoyment." 

" By St. Dunstan," answered Gurth, u thou speakest but 
" sad truths ; little is left to us but the air we breathe, and 
u that appears to have been reserved with much hesitation, 
¥ solely for the purpose of enabling us to endure the tasks 
" they lay upon our shoulders. The finest and the fattest is 
" for their board ; the loveliest is for their couch ; the best 
" and bravest supply their foreign masters with soldiers, and 
f whiten distant lands with their bones, leaving few here who 
" have either the will or the power to protect the unfortunate 
" Saxon !" 

The effect of the Norman Conquest was simply to intro- 
duce among the Saxon population a certain class of new 
terms, which — though they were eventually embodied in their 
language — are still readily distinguishable from the Stock on 
which they were thus engrafted. But the general structure 
and composition of the language remained unaffected by any 



34 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

Foreign alloy. The most common verbs, nouns, and gram- 
matical inflections and forms — Home Tooke's " epea pte- 
roenta" of the English language — remained, and have since 
continued to be, pure, unadulterated Anglo-Saxon ! 

Such was the character of those modifications in the 
English Tongue that flowed from the Norman Conquest. 
Partial and peculiar were those changes in their nature — 
brief, also, was the interval of which they were the result ! 
A period can be fixed, at which it is certain that the dialect of 
theNorman had ceased to encroach on that of the Anglo-Saxon 
people. In the age of Chaucer, for example, the Norman and 
Saxon races had long become undistinguishable, and the lan- 
guages they spoke had blended into one. Can the same age 
be fixed upon as an epoch at which the process of transition 
in the English language had also been arrested ? That con- 
siderable changes have since occurred will not be disputed — 
for it is an historical fact which does neither admit of doubt 
nor discussion. But had all important changes ceased at that 
time? Can ic be said that — in the time of Chaucer — that 
progressive revolution which has so widely separated the 
modern English from the original Anglo-Saxon had gone 
through all its stages? Can it be said that the innovations 
which have since occurred are few in number, and trifling in 
point of character, compared to those which belong to earlier 
periods of our History ? 

The answer to these inquiries involves a truth that I 
believe will be found no less startling to the Philologist than 
to the general reader, in whose mind the changes which the 
English language has undergone are associated with the 
violent shock given by the Norman Conquest to Anglo-Saxon 
institutions. The truth to which I allude— and it is one for 
which I apprehend few inquirers will be prepared — is this : 
that the changes which have occurred in the English language 
since the age of Chaucer are at least equal in importance to 






LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 35 

those which took place in the antecedent periods of our 
history. Novel as this conclusion may appear, the proofs 
are so simple and so conclusive, as to place its accuracy 
beyond the possibility of doubt. 

The features which distinguish different languages from 
each other are divisible into two classes — Words and Gram- 
matical inflections. In both these features marked differences 
have arisen between our modern English and its parent 
Saxon, and to both these classes we must refer in forming 
our conclusion as to the relative importance of the alterations 
which have taken place in our language at two different epochs. 
1st. The difference in words between the language of 
Chaucer and our modern English will be sufficiently ob- 
vious, from a cursory glance at the venerable remains of that 
poet. How many terms are there in the pages of the father 
of English poetry that require the aid of a glossary to render 
them intelligible even to an educated Englishman ! These 
terms too, be it observed — and it is a reflection highly de- 
serving of the attention of those who may still cling to the 
impression that the Norman Conquest has been the sole 
agent of those phases through which the English Tongue has 
passed — do not consist exclusively of Anglo-Saxon roots, but 
comprise also a large number of Norman words which have 
shared the same fate ! 

2d. Still more striking have been those Changes in the 
Grammatical forms of the English which may be referred 
to the last four centuries. 

The ancient Saxon was a language of inflections — the 
modern English is a language of simple forms. Thus, in the 
Anglo-Saxon the terminations of the Verb were varied in dif- 
ferent Persons, as they are in the Latin * Hab-eo, Hah-emus, 
Kah-ent,' and in the German 'Hab-e, Hab-en, Hab-en.' 
These inflections have, for the most part, progressively dis- 
appeared from the English, which expresses the changes of 



36 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

Persons by separate Pronouns, in conjunction with a Root, in 
most instances unvarying, as e I Have, We Have, They Have.' 
There is distinct evidence that this change has, in a great 
measure, perhaps principally, taken place since the time of 
Chaucer — whose writings, to a great extent, preserve the 
Anglo-Saxon inflections, such as 'They Hav-e//,'* &c, cor- 
responding with the German ' Sie Hab-e;/,' &c. 

Slow and almost imperceptible have been the steps in this 
as in other examples of that revolution of which the progress 
may be faintly traced in the writings of Spenser, and 
Shakspeare, and Milton, and even in those of the great 
modern Masters of the last century. In our own generation 
it has not been consummated ! A striking instance occurs 
in the old inflection of the third person singular ' He Giv-eth/ 
still partially used in the venerable forms of Scripture. This 
inflection, now fast passing into oblivion, trifling as it may 
appear, forms a link which serves to associate the English 
language not only with the German, but with the Latin and 
the Sanscrit 1 1 

The Auxiliary Verb may probably be regarded as the most 
important part of Language. Now it is highly deserving of 
remark, that in the Anglo-Saxon there existed an Auxiliary 
Verb, f Beo, or Beonne, To Be/ which has been abandoned 
in the modern English. This Verb is interesting, not merely 
from its important functions as a part of Language, but also 
from its forming a link, as will hereafter appear, between the 
Anglo-Saxon, the German, the dialects of the English Pro- 
vinces, and of the Scottish Lowlands. From the English of 

• This inflection, as in ' They Hav-m,' is also preserved in the Dialects of the 
English Provinces, 
t Giv-eth (Eng.) 
Gieb-et (Germ.) 
Don-at (Lat.) 

Can-ati (Sans.) i. e. Can-it (Lat.) 
Diy-ati (Sans.) i. e. Die-th (Eng.) 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 37 

Literature it has been lost since the days of Chaucer, by 
whom it is commonly used, as in the following example : 

" These two sinnes bin so nigb cosins." — Persoji's Tale. 

The peculiarities which distinguish the dialects of the 
English Counties from the language of the higher classes of 
society are not, as is perhaps generally supposed, the results 
of the capricious deviation of uncultivated minds from an 
established standard. On the contrary, they appear clearly 
for the most part to be various relics or Fragments of Old 
English or Anglo-Saxon, which the more educated classes 
have lost. For example, To ' axe 5 (for To ask,) e I conne/ 
(I can,) expressions used by the peasantry of Shropshire, are 
words of Saxon origin that occur in Chaucer. In an able 
work on the peculiarities of the dialect of Lancashire, by 
Mr. Collier,* it has been shown with much learning and re- 
search that those peculiarities are to be recognized in Chaucer, 
Spenser, Ben Jonson, and other old English writers. Ob- 
solete Norman, as well as Saxon, words occur in this dialect. 
Similar inferences with regard to the Lowland Scotch may 
be drawn from Mr. Jamieson's work on that branch of the 
Anglo-Saxon. 

Some very interesting results will be found to flow from a 
Comparison of the " Pronunciation" of different English 
Counties, and of the Lowland Scotch, with that of the edu- 
cated classes of modern England. One of the most marked 
differences between the modern English and the German 
consists in the superior breadth or distinctness which is given 
in the German to words which are uttered with a compara- 
tively narrow and indistinct sound in Modern English. There 
is every reason to believe that the Anglo-Saxon Pronuncia- 

• A work published by this gentleman under the quaint title of" Tim Bobbin," 
and written entirely in the Lancashire Dialect, is well known. His writings, how- 
ever, display the attainments of a scholar. 



38 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

tion was similar to the German, and that the present English 
mode has been the result of progressive innovation, Of the 
various dialects of the Anglo-Saxon, the Lowland Scotch, in 
its pronunciation, as well as in individual words, approaches 
nearest to the Continental German.* But, as intimated 
above, many of the characteristics of German articulation 
have been preserved also in the Provincial dialects of England. 
Moreover, it is interesting to observe, that different primitive 
peculiarities have been preserved in different counties. For 
example, the English of the educated classes diners from the 
Continental German, and, as it is believed, from the Anglo- 
Saxon also,t in giving a narrow sound to the vowels A and U. 
Now the Shropshire dialect has preserved the broad A ; 
(' Hair,' for instance, is pronounced c H-a-r/ as it is by the 
Germans !) On the other hand, in Lancashire and Cheshire 
the broad U forms the prominent feature in the dialect of the 
peasantry; (for example, 'Butter 5 and ( Gutter' are pronounced 
6 Bootter 3 and ' Gootter /') 

As already - jticed, the Anglo-Saxon Auxiliary Verb forms 
in numerous instances an important connecting link. Thus 
the modern English and the modern German Auxiliary Verbs 
differ totally in the present tense. 

ENGLISH. GERMAN. 

I am, Ich bin, 

Thou art, Du bist, 

He is. Er ist. 

We are, Wir sind, 

You are, Ihr seyd, 

They are. Sie sind. 

But both these Verbs co-exist in the present tense in the 
old Anglo-Saxon. 

* < Gang to the recht {right) hand' was a reply which Dr. Lappenben? of 
Hamburgh has noticed to the author as one which struck his ear when he visited 
Scotland for the first time as a student. The approximation to the German is 
manifest. 

+ Rask, by Thorpe, pp. 8-9. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 39 

Anglo-Saxon* Verb the source Anglo-Saxon Verb corres- 
of the English 'lam.' ponding with the German 

<Ich bin: 

INDICATIVE PRESENT. 

Singular. Singular. 

1, Eom, \ 9 Beo, 

2, Eort, 2, Byst, 

3, Is. 3, By & Byd. 

Plural. Plural. 

1, 2, 3, Synd. 1, 2, 3, Beod & Beo. 

SUBJUNCTIVE PRESENT. 

Singular. Singular. 

1, 2, 3, Sy (Seo). 1, 2, 3, Beo. 

Plural. Plural. 

1, 2, 3, Sy'n. 1, 2, 3, Beon. 

INDICATIVE IMPERFECT. 

Singular. Singular. 

l,Waes, 1,2,3, Beo. 

2, Waere, 

3, Weds. 

Plural. Plural. 

1,2,3, Weron. 1, 2, 3, Beod. 

INFINITIVE PRESENT. 

Wesanne. Beonne. 

PARTICIPLE ACTIVE. 

Wesende. Beonde. 

PARTICIPLE PAST. 

Gewesen. 

* This- Verb also exhibits the German Plural / Sind/ which differs from the 
singular altogether, and belonged no doubt originally to a distinct Auxiliary Verb. 



40 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

But though the present tense of the Verb ' Beo or Beonne' 
does not exist in modern English, it has been preserved in a 
remarkable manner in the Shropshire and other dialects, in 
which it runs thus : 

PROVINCIAL ENGLISH. GERMAN. 

I Be, or I Bin, Ich Bin, 

Thou Bist, Du Bist, 

He Is. Er 1st. 

We Bin, 
Y6 Bin, 
They Bin. 

The word ( Bin' or i Ben 5 is used by Chaucer for the 1 st, 
2d, and 3d Persons Plural,* as in the passage previously 
quoted: "These two sinnes bin so nigh cosins." (Person's 
Tales.) 

These are singular but highly instructive examples of the 
caprices of " the great Innovator \" 

* See Glossary to Tyrwhitt's Chaucer. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 41 



Section IV. 

On the Scandinavian Languages, Resemblances between the 
Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon. Recent Origin and extensive 
Nature of the Differences among the Icelandic, Swedish, 
Danish, and Norwegian Tongues. Approximation of the 
Ancient Specimens of the Scandinavian and Teutonic 
Languages. 

The Island of Iceland abounds in diversified features of 
interest; and its Language, early History, and Institutions, 
will be found replete with instruction, in connexion with the 
inquiry pursued in this volume. 

As has been previously stated, the Gothic Class of lan- 
guages are naturally divisible into two great subordinate 
branches : the Teutonic or German, including the dialects of 
Germany, the Low Countries, and of Great Britain — and the 
Scandinavian, including those of the two Scandinavian 
Peninsulas and Iceland. These two great Divisions of the 
Languages of the Gothic race are radically the same, but 
they are supposed to display certain specific differences by 
which they are distinguished from each other. 

Of the Teutonic — one of the most venerable specimens is 
the Anglo-Saxon, the primitive tongue of the Ancestors of 
the modern English. More ancient specimens of some of 
the other Gothic dialects have been preserved, but as these 
are for the most part mere fragments — while of the Anglo- 
Saxon literature and language we possess copious Remains — 
it has been inferred by eminent Scholars that it is in these 
Remains — to Englishmen so interesting for other reasons — 
that we may on the whole, perhaps, hope to find the nearest 
approach to a transcript of the early language of the Teutonic 



42 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

tribes.* Of all the Scandinavian Languages, on the other 
hand, the Icelandic — by the general concurrence of the 
scholars of the North — appears to be the most primitive. 

Now in relation to these two Languages, a very interesting 
proposition has been established by Scandinavian scholars — 
and though they widely differ as to the cause of the results 
they discuss— they seem to be agreed with respect to the 
proposition itself. The Icelandic, they have shown, closely 
approaches to the Anglo-Saxon in numerous features in 
which it differs from the languages of Norway, Sweden, and 
Denmark. Moreover it has been pointed out by the writers 
who first noticed these resemblances, that — in their Literary 
and Bardic Institutions, as well as in their Language — the 
Icelanders approach to the Anglo-Saxons. In explanation 
of these facts, they propose the theory — that in the early 
ages of their history the Icelanders must have benefited 
by direct communication and instruction from the Anglo- 
Saxons. 

These views T ive been fully discussed by Professor Rask, 
in a Preface prefixed to his Anglo-Saxon Grammar, which 
contains a valuable body of facts that serve to throw a new 
light on the history of the Scandinavian Tongues. f He does 
not deny the existence of these important common features 
in the Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon Languages and Remains ; 
nor the absence of the same features as regards the Modern 
specimens of the Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ; but he 
maintains, nevertheless, that all these characteristics may be 
retraced in detail, either in the Ancient or in the Provincial 
specimens of those three Languages. In the present day 
the Icelandic differs widely from the Languages of the 
Mainland of Scandinavia, an^ those Languages also differ 
widely among themselves. But originally, he maintains, one 

* Rask's Anglo-Saxon Grammar, 
t Rask's Grammar, by Thorpe. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 43 

common Speech, the ancient Scandinavian, (' DanskaTunge/) 
was spoken from the coasts of Greenland to those of Finland, 
from the Frozen Ocean to the Eider.* As we ascend into 
the remoter periods of history we find the languages of 
Scandinavia gradually approximate to each other, and finally 
blend into one.f During the ninth century, and the period 
immediately succeeding, these tongues were perfectly iden- 
tical. 

Professor Rask's proofs of this proposition may be said to 
consist of a reunion of the i Disjecta Membra' of the 
' Danska Tunge/ as found dispersed in the various kingdoms 
and provinces of the Scandinavian Mainland. Of these 
proofs I shall offer a few examples. 

After observing that the Danish and Norwegian have from 
various causes become very much alike, he adds that a com- 
parison of the Danish with the Swedish would, for that 
reason, be more instructive. 

* The Swedish has almost from the introduction of Chris- 
" tianity, even during the Calmar union, a.d. 1397, and in 
" the time of Gustavus I., been a distinct tongue ; a com- 
" parison, therefore, with the Swedish is more to the present 
" purpose." 

He then gives a specimen of an ancient Danish MS. of a 
date prior to the Reformation, which, " like all MSS. prior" 
to that event, " differs widely from the present Danish. . . . 
* It has many inflections now obsolete, but which are to be 
" found only in Old Swedish and Icelandic ; many antiquated 
e< words and phrases, exempli gratia, then annin," Icelandic 
" thann annan." 

He then mentions some words contained in this MS. which 
are still preserved in " the provinces of Upland, Jutland, and, 
(< Dalecarlia." 

* Bosworth's Scandinavian Literature. 

+ lb. See Rask's Anglo-Saxon Grammar, by Thorpe. 



44 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

He next notices an old Swedish document issued by King 
Magnus Smik, of which he observes : " This, although about a 
" century older, greatly resembles the preceding specimen, 
" and is scarcely distinguishable from the Danish of the same 

" period But if we go further back to the language 

" of the old Danish Laws, we there recognize nearly the 
" entire structure of the earliest Swedish, and the Icelandic 
" though not always strictly adhered to, as the language in 
a those unhappy and turbulent times which preceded the 
" Calmar Union, underwent in Denmark what may be termed 
" its fermentation, somewhat earlier than in the other states." 

He then gives a specimen from the Ecclesiastical Laws of 
Zealand, of which he observes : " The few deviations from 
" the Icelandic bear, for the most part, a strong resemblance 
" to the Swedish. 

" But the oldest remains of the Danish language are to be 
" found on our Runic stone monuments, and here at length 
" it perfectly coincides with the earliest Swedish, Norwegian, 
" and Icelandic. 

***** 

" The Danish is closely allied to the Swedish, and both, in 
" the earliest times, lapse into the Icelandic, which, according 
Ci to all ancient records, was formerly universal over all the 
" North, and must therefore be considered as the parent of 
" both the modern Scandinavian dialects/ 5 # 

On the subject of the differences of dialect in the different 
provinces of the Northern Kingdoms he says that, "In Norway 
" as well as in Denmark one province terminates its verbs 

* The original identity of all these Languages maybe said to be clearly proved ; 
tbe Icelandic, also, seems to have deviated less than the rest from the parent 
tongue. But this opinion that the Icelandic has not changed at all is a highly 
unreasonable one. For example, the Danish and Swedish names for ' Water' in 
Appendix C, of which the antiquity is certain from their general use among the 
Teutonic tribes, &c. must have been lost by the Icelanders. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 45 

"in a, another distinguishes all the three genders, while a 
<e third has preserved a vast number of old words and inflec- 
£i tions which to the others are unintelligible" 

We have thus a proof that even in the provinces of the 
same kingdom there are differences of " words, grammar, 
" and inflections.'" The difference in the number of genders is 
a very remarkable one. 

The researches of Professor Rask will be found distinctly 
to warrant the following conclusions. These conclusions are 
in the nature of results that legitimately flow from his re- 
searches ; they do not represent the inferences which he him- 
self has thence deduced. With regard both to the languages 
of England and of his native Scandinavia, this learned writer 
seems evidently to have been perplexed by the extent and 
variety of the changes he has described. Hence, in both in- 
stances, he has shown an inclination to ascribe to the influence 
of War and Social disturbance changes which his own re- 
searches clearly prove to have been the effects neither of 
transient nor of local influences, but of causes progressively 
at work through a series of ages, and embracing large groups 
of nations and languages in their action. 

1. The differences which now exist between the various 
Scandinavian Languages extend to all those features in which 
it is possible that one Language, or one Class of Languages, 
can differ from another; viz. to Words, Grammar, Inflec- 
tions,* and to the arrangement of Words in sentences,t or 
Idioms. 

2. Not only do differences of this nature present themselves 
in the various Scandinavian Kingdoms — but also in the va- 

* As to Grammar and Inflections, see especially pp. xvii. and xix. xxi. xxiii. 
—Rask. 

f See Bosworth's ' Scandinavian Literature,' as to the difference in the 
arrangement of sentences, and the difference of Idioms between the ancient and 
modern Scandinavian dialects. 



46 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

rious Provinces of the same Kingdom, which in many in- 
stances are distinguished by the most marked differences in 
Words, Grammar, &c. Thus the Dialect of Dalecarlia in 
Sweden is very ancient and distinct, and approaches to the 
Gothic* 

3. These characteristic features of the various languages 
and dialects of Scandinavia have arisen progressively during 
the course of ages. 

4. These differences principally consist in the abandon- 
ment in one Kingdom or Province of a portion of the Words, 
Idioms, Grammar, &c. of the Parent Speech — that part of 
the elements of the Original Tongue which have become ob- 
solete in one dialect having generally been preserved in the 
dialects of other kingdoms and provinces — which have at 
the same time generally lost other distinct portions of the 
Vocabulary, Grammar, &c. of their common Original. In 
other words, the f Disjecta Membra 5 of the old Scandinavian, 
or ' Danska Tuv ?/ when not preserved in the Danish, have 
been retained for the most part in the Swedish, Icelandic, 
and Norwegian, or in some of the Provincial dialects of 
Scandinavia, and vice versa. In the various provinces in which 
it was once spoken different portions of the Parent speech have 
been abandoned or preserved. 

5. Hence it follows that the Primitive Language of Scan- 
dinavia, or e Danska Tunge/ does not exist in any one — 
but is dispersed in all, its derivative dialects. (Compare 
the motto from Grotius on the title-page.) 

6. It is a necessary consequence of the third and fourth 
propositions that the more ancient remains of the derivative 
dialects approach more nearly to the Parent Speech, and — 
in the ratio of their superior antiquity — unite a greater pro- 
portion of the distinctive peculiarities of all the sister-dialects, 

* Rask, pp. xvii. and xix. Bosworth's Scandinavian Literature. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 47 

which, as previously stated, have arise n in consequence of 
certain portions of the Parent speech having been abandoned 
in some provinces and retained in others, and vice versa. 

An interesting illustration of this maxim occurs in a pas- 
sage from Professor Rask^s preface already quoted, in which, 
after giving a specimen of old Danish, which approaches 
closely to the Icelandic, he adds, " The few deviations from 
" the Icelandic bear for the most part a strong resemblance to 
ce the Swedish" In other words, the older specimens of the 
Danish unite those peculiarities by which the modern col- 
lateral Tongues of Iceland, Denmark, and Sweden are dis- 
tinguished from each other. 

Let it be borne in mind, that the lapse of one thousand 
years has produced these changes, and the instructive nature 
of this example will be fully apparent. Of the accuracy of 
the data on which the previous deductions rest, all doubt 
must be removed by reference to one remarkable event. It 
is historically certain that the Island of Iceland is inhabited 
by a nation descended from emigrants from the opposite 
Norwegian coast. It is historically certain, also, that pre- 
viously to the Ninth Century these warlike adventurers had 
not established themselves on the Icelandic soil. Anterior to 
that period, therefore, it is self-evident that, inasmuch as the 
Icelanders had no existence as a nation, the Icelandic Tongue 
could not have had a separate existence as a language. Yet 
it is certain that in the present day the Icelandic deviates at 
least as widely from the language of the adjoining Norwegian 
Coasts as that language deviates from the other Scandinavian 
Tongues. 

The evidence furnished by Professor Rask and the writers 
whose views he has combated, will be found, when fairly 
balanced, distinctly to support a very important Conclusion, 
contemplated by neither. The facts adduced on both sides 
conspire to show a rapid approximation of the Teutonic and 



48 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL. 

Scandinavian branches of the Gothic as we ascend into re- 
mote ages. 

Of this approximation, the features of identity between the 
Anglo-Saxon and the Icelandic, pointed out by the writers 
whose views Professor Rask combats, furnish a reasonable 
presumption, which is converted into positive proof by 
the evidence collected by Professor Rask himself, that the 
same features occur in all the ancient, though they do not 
in the modern, specimens of the Languages of the Scandi- 
navian Peninsulas. It is true, this learned writer, of whose 
researches I have chiefly availed myself in this Section, 
maintains that there are some features in which all the 
Scandinavian differ from the Anglo-Saxon and other Teutonic 
Dialects, a conclusion, however, but feebly supported by the 
examples he has adduced, and scarcely reconcilable in any 
way with the resemblance which the primitive Swedish 
dialect of Dalecarlia is said to bear to the Gothic. But, as- 
suming the occurrence of some features of difference, even in 
the earliest specimens we possess, this assumption leaves un- 
touched the proposition that these specimens show a rapid 
rate of approximation, which, if equally rapid prior to their 
date, implies that at an era not many ages anterior the iden- 
tity of the languages of Germany and Scandinavia must 
have been complete. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 49 



Section V. 

The Origin of the Irish Nation. The original Language of 
the British Isles was a Union of Welsh and Irish. Union 
of the Irish, Welsh, fyc. in the ancient Local Names in the 
Celtic Countries of Gaul, $c. These Names a connecting 
Link between the existing Celtic Dialects and the Oriental, 
Greek, and other Languages, fyc. 

The origin of the Irish nation, or Gael, forms — for nu- 
merous reasons — a highly interesting and important subject 
of inquiry. Of this Nation the very same theories have been 
maintained as those which have been adopted in some quar- 
ters with respect to the North American Indians, the Negroes, 
and other branches of the Human Family ; viz., that they 
are of a stock aboriginally inferior and distinct, by nature 
incapable of the virtues of civilization. Let the views advo- 
cated by Pinkerton with respect to the Gaelic race — views 
received with no slight degree of favour in his time — be com- 
pared with the doctrines of many modern writers on the 
subject of the native African and American Races, and an 
instructive lesson will be learnt on the force of prejudice and 
the uniformity of error ! 

On the other hand, it must be allowed that the opinions 
which have been generally espoused on the subject of the 
origin of the Gael by many of the Historians and Scholars 
of Ireland and of the Highlands of Scotland, can scarcely be 
said to possess a better claim to the approbation of a calm 
and dispassionate judgment. Eminently distinguished as 
the Irish are by Literary genius, there is probably no subject 
on which their native talent has appeared to less advantage 
than in the investigation of the early History of their own 

4 



50 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

Country. Fictions the most extravagant, borrowed from the 
Chronicles of the dark ages, have been credulously adopted 
by their first Scholars in lieu of those solid truths to which 
a calm and sober inquiry alone can lead. Thus we find Mr. 
Moore, at once the Poet and the Historian of Ireland, 
lending the sanction of his name to the Fable that the Irish 
are of Spanish origin; and citing, in answer to the more rea- 
sonable hypothesis of a British origin, a variety of Irish 
writers of no mean note, and some Welsh writers also, in 
favour of the assertions : 1, that the Irish Language is almost 
totally unlike the Welsh or Ancient British ; and 2, that the 
Welsh is not a Celtic but a Gothic Tongue ! There is every 
reason to conclude that Mr. Moore — unacquainted, probably, 
with any of the Celtic dialects himself — resorted to those 
authorities which he might naturally have deemed most de- 
serving of confidence. But this only renders more lamentably 
conspicuous the credulity, carelessness, and ignorance of 
those to whose kbours he has appealed. The assertions, 
1, that the Welsh and Irish are unlike; and 2, that the 
Welsh is a Gothic dialect, are contradictions of the plainest 
facts, as will be obvious from a perusal of the examples se- 
lected in Appendix C. 

Influenced by national feelings Gaelic Scholars have also 
advanced various other theories, calculated to exhibit the an- 
tiquity of their language and race in a favorable point of 
view. The Gaelic has been maintained to be the Parent, at 
least in part, of the Latin, the Welsh, &c. ; while to the first 
Colonists of Ireland a Carthaginian or Phoenician origin has 
been assigned. 

These conclusions cannot be sustained. But it is highly 
probable, notwithstanding, that the proofs on which they 
have been based will be found, in many instances, to contain 
the germs of important truths, though blended with an ad- 
mixture of error. The traces of affinity between the Irish 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 51 

and other ancient languages which have been collected by 
Gaelic Scholars, may be open in many cases to the same re- 
mark, which is clearly applicable to the examples of affinity 
pointed out by Mr. Catlin between the dialect of the North 
American Indian tribe the Mandans and the Welsh; viz., 
these features may consist of clear and genuine traces of a 
generic, though they may afford no proofs of a specific, 
affinity of race. There can be no doubt that the Irish pre- 
serves many primitive forms which the kindred Celtic of 
Wales has lost ; there can be no doubt also that the Irish 
approximates to the Latin, to the Greek, and to the Egyp- 
tian,* &c. in many features which the Welsh no longer ex- 
hibits. The examples adduced in Appendix A of the con- 
nexion of the Irish language with the Hebrew, Egyptian, &c. 
are sufficient to show that the Irish are a nation of Oriental 
origin. But on the other hand it must be borne in mind, 
that inasmuch as the Welsh, Latin, &c, have also preserved 
primitive forms which the Irish has lost, there is no ground 
for concluding that the Gaelic is a Parent rather than a Sister 
of these venerable Tongues ; and inasmuch as the evidence 
of the Eastern origin of the Gael, however unequivocal, is 
not clearer or closer than the accompanying t evidence with 
respect to the Welsh, English, and other European nations, 
there are no peculiar grounds for referring the first coloniza- 
tion of Ireland to a direct migration from the shores of 
Palestine or Africa, rather than to the gradual diffusion of 
population from a central point. 

The following comparison presents examples of features 
in which the Irish approximates to the Gothic and other 
Languages, at the same time that it differs more or less from 
the Welsh. 

* See the Irish names for the Heavenly Bodies, in Append. A and C. 
f See Appendix A. 



.V> 



DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL. 



Words in which the Gaelic resembles the Gothic, and other 
European Languages, more closely than it resembles the 
Cymraeg or Welsh. 



ENGLISH. 


GAELIC. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


CYMRAEG. 


1. Father. 


Ath-air, (Ir.) 


Atta, (Gothic.) 

Ayta, Aydia, (Basque.) 

Attia, (Hung.) 

Otek, (Russ.) 

Fader, slightly varied in all 
the Gothic dialects, except 
the Gothic properly so 
called. 

Pater, ( Greek 2$ Latin.) 


Tad, (W.) 


2. Mother. 


Math-air, (Ir.) 


Mater or Mutter (with some 
trifling variations) in Latin, 
Greek, and all the Teuto- 
Scandinavian dialects ex- 
cept the Gothic — also in 
the Sclavonic and Bohe- 
mian. 

Ath-ei, (Gothic.) 






Mymmog, 


... 


Mam, (fV.) 




(Manx dialect.) 






3. Brother. 


Brathair, (Ir.) 


The Irish form, Brathair, 


Brawd, (W.) 






occurs in the Latin and 


Bredar, 






Teuto-Scandinav. tongues; 


(Cornish.) 






the Welsh form, Brawd, in 








the Sclavonian tongues. 






Breur, 


... 


Breur, (Jrm.) 




(Manx dialect.) 






4. Sister. 


Siur, (Ir.) 


The Irish form prevails in the 
Latin, Teuto-Scand. and 
Sclavonic. 


Chwaer, (TV.) 




Piur, (Scotch.) 




Hor, Huyr, 

(Cornish.) 
Torv. 


5. A Company. 


Drong, (Ir.) 


Drang, a Throng, a Crowd, 






( German.) 




6. Mock. 


Magom, (Ir.) 


Mock, (English.) 


Gwatwor, (JV.) 


7. Evil. 


Neoid, (Ir.) 
01k, (Ir.) 


*« \ { E„ g .) ... 


Droug, (W.) 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 



53 



ENGLISH. 


GAELIC. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


CYMBAEG. 


8. The Bank > 
of a Stream. ' 


Rang, (Jr.) 


Rand,* (Germ.) 


Glan, (W.) 


9. A Step. 


Beim, (Ir.) 


Bem-a, a Step, (Greek.) 

Bain-o, to go. 

Bahn, a Path, (Germ.) 


Cam. 


10. To bear. 


Beir-im, (Ir.) 


Fero, (Latin.) 
Ge-Bahr-en, (Germ.) 


Dwyn. 


11. Jeering. 


Fon-amhad(Ir.w 


Fun, (Eng.) 




Delight. 


Foun, (Ir.) 1 


Vonne, Delight, > ( ^ m>) 
Vunsch, a Wish, 5 V 


Vynn, orMynn, 


A Desire. 


J 


a Wish, (W.) 


12. A Woman. 


Geon, (Ir.) 


Cwen, (Ang.-Sax. fy Icel.) 


Gen-eth, a Girl, 


13. To know. 


Fis-ay-im, (Ir.)-* 
Fod-am, (Ir.) \ 


Viss-en, (Germ.) -* 
Vit-an, (Ang.-Sax.) J 
1 1 wot,' (Eng.) S 


Wys, or Gwys, 




Wyth.orGwyth, 






Knowledge ( W.) 


14. To heat, > 
or warm. S 








Gorm, (Ir.) 


Warm, (Eng.) 


Gwresogi, (W.) 


15. A Shadow. 


Sgath, (Ir.) 


lY m * ] (Greek.) ^ 
Skiad-on, 5 V I 

Schatten, (Germ.) J 








Cysgod, (W.) 








16. To speak. 


Raid-him, (Ir.) 


Read-en, (Germ.) ... 1 


Siarad, (W.) 



Some of these examples would furnish a more plausible 
argument to show that the Irish are a Gothic race than any 
which have been advanced to prove that the Welsh are of 
Gothic origin ! It is singular, for instance, that the Irish 
terms expressive of the Domestic relations are so near the 
English as to excite in the first instance a suspicion that they 
must have been borrowed from the followers of Strongbow ! 
But this impression must be dispelled by the reflection that 
terms of this class are never borrowed from its conquerors by 
a nation that continues to retain its primitive language. 
Moreover, it will be observed, that the Irish, in the instance 
of these words, approaches much more nearly to the Gothic, 



• Possibly many of these words may be traced in the Greek, &c, but it would 
be foreign to the present subject to enter into too minute a discussion on that 
head. 



,")4 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

Hungarian, and Russian, &c. than it does to the English. 
Again, the Irish word ' Gorm/ To heat or warm, is like the 
English c Warm.' But, on the other hand, its genuineness 
is rendered indisputable by its absolute identity with the 
word ' Gorm' in Persian and Egyptian, (See Appendix A, 
p. 21.) Finally, the resemblances manifested above by the 
Irish to the Greek are quite as close as those which the 
former language displays to the English and other Gothic 
Tongues. In these examples, therefore, we may recognize 
proofs not of any partial results or specific connexions, but of 
the more complete approximation of the European languages 
as we enlarge our range of inquiry, and obtain more ample 
specimens of each Class. 

But, notwithstanding the occurrence of some features of 
difference, it is indisputable that there exists a close spe- 
cific affinity between the Irish and Welsh Languages, which 
renders the common origin of the nations who speak them evi- 
dent. The original identity of the Irish and Welsh Languages 
was established as far back as the commencement of the 
eighteenth century, by the investigations of the excellent 
Archaeologist, Edward Lhuyd, who spent five years in tra- 
velling through the various Celtic regions, and whose com- 
parison of the dialects of Wales, Cornwall, Armorica, the 
Highlands of Scotland, and the Isle of Man, is not inferior 
either in soundness of reasoning, or in patient, extensive, and 
honest research, to the best German works of the present 
day. But although the writings of Lhuyd may be said to 
have established the original unity of the Welsh and Irish 
races, since the publication of his work, a peculiar opinion 
has been adopted by some learned men with regard to the 
time of their original separation. Of this opinion, Edward 
Lhuyd was himself the first advocate; his conclusion was 
that though the Irish and British Celts were both descend- 
ants from one stock, they must have been separated into two 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 55 

distinct Tribes before their arrival in the British Islands. The 
Gaelic or Irish Tribe he supposes to have preceded the Welsh 
or British Tribe, by whom he conceives them to have been 
gradually driven to the West, as the Britons were by the 
Saxons in subsequent ages. Lhuyd' s grounds are as follows : 

The most ancient names of Rivers and Mountains in the 
Island of Britain are very generally composed of terms still 
preserved in the Welsh or Ancient British Tongue. But 
there are some remarkable exceptions, and in these instances 
it frequently happens that the Names may be clearly iden- 
tified with Words still preserved in the Irish or Gaelic branch 
of the Celtic. For example, the names of the British rivers, 
the Usk and the Esk, are particularly noticed by Lhuyd ; 
these names are identical with ' Uisge, Eask/ the Irish term 
for ( Water.' This word, he observes, does not exist in the 
Welsh, and he had looked for it in vain in the sister dialect 
of Armorica ; but, he adds, it is still retained by the Irish or 
Gaelic. Hence, he suggests that the Irish or Gaelic branch 
of the Celts must have colonized the Island of Britain before 
the arrival of the Cymry or Welsh branch, by whom, as he 
conceives, they were expelled, after having conferred names 
on the principal localities. 

The evidence of language will be found sufficient to show 
not merely the common origin of the Welsh and Irish, but 
also to fix a much more recent date for their separation than 
that which has been assigned by Lhuyd. It will thence ap- 
pear that the Irish are descendants of Colonists of the Welsh 
or British race, not of a distinct Celtic sept, and that the 
commencement of the separate existence of the Irish nation 
must be referred to a comparatively recent date, propositions 
of much interest, of which the proofs about to be advanced 
will probably be deemed to be at once clear and simple. 

Lhuyd 5 s reasoning in favour of his theory, that the Irish or 
Gael existed in Britain as a separate Tribe, prior to the arrival 



56 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

of the Britons who fought against Caesar, the ancestors of 
the modern Welsh, is founded on a false analogy not unna- 
tural to a first inquirer. 

The proposition that the most important local names in 
every country for the most part consist of terms belonging 
to the language of the very first inhabitants, is one of which 
1 conceive the truth will be evident. For a proof of this 
principle, I may refer to Chalmers' * admirable analysis of 
local names in the Lowlands of Scotland, where, in spite of 
a succession of Conquests, and the utter extinction in that 
part of Britain of the language of the original inhabitants, 
viewed as a vernacular dialect, Welsh and other Celtic names 
are still preserved, after the lapse of ages, for the most pro- 
minent features of the country. This result, it may be ob- 
served, is one that flows from the very nature of things. 
Even the most fierce and ruthless invaders are compelled to 
hold sufficient intercourse with the first population to enable 
them to learn the proper names of their localities, and these 
names, from obvious motives of convenience, they almost 
universally adopt. 

Now, had Lhuyd shown that the most ancient Local names 
in Britain are exclusively Irish, there can be no doubt that, 
consistently with the principle just noticed, his theory would 
have been supported by the facts to which he adverts. But 
the most ancient local names in Britain are not exclusively 
or principally Irish ; in an equal number, perhaps in a majo- 
rity, of cases they are Welsh. 

Moreover, it may be observed that the names of localities 
in this Island furnish highly instructive evidence, not merely 
with respect to the different races by whom it has been suc- 
cessively peopled, but also of the order in which they arrived. 
Thus the names of Rivers and Mountains, and other natural 

* Chalmers' Caledonia. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 57 

objects, at least of the most conspicuous, are Celtic; the 
names of the most ancient Towns are Latin, or Latin grafted 
on British words ; more modern Towns and Villages have 
Saxon appellations; those of more recent origin have fre- 
quently Norman designations; and last of all come those 
places which have names derived from our present English. 
These various classes of names cannot be nicely distinguished 
in each particular instance. Of the correctness of the general 
principle, however, there is no doubt. 

But the terms noticed by Lhuyd as significant in the Irish 
language do not belong to a different class of appellations 
from those which are obviously of British or Cymraeg origin. 
The Irish and Cymraeg terms are both found to predominate 
most in the names of the most ancient Class, viz. in those of 
Rivers, Mountains, &c, and to be thus applied in conjunction. 
Hence the natural inference that flows from his facts is not 
that these names were conferred by two distinct and succes- 
sive races, but that they were imposed contemporaneously and 
by the same People ! 

Further it may be noticed, that if British Topography pre- 
sents words extant only in the Irish Tongue, Irish Topography 
also presents names which cannot be explained by means of 
the Irish, though their meaning is preserved in Welsh ; for 
example : There is a place near the head of a Stream in 
Roscommon, called ' Glan a Modda, (from Glan, e The bank 
of a Stream, 5 Welsh.) There is a place in Wales, called 
i Glan a Mowdduy.' There is a place called ' Glan-gora/ in 
a Creek at the head of Bantry Bay; and another place in 
Ireland called i Glan-gort.' 

'Ben-heder/ the ancient Irish name for 'The Hill of 
Howth/ interpreted by Mr. Moore 'The Hill of Birds.' 
(Adar, ( Birds,' Welsh. The word does not exist in Irish.) 

Arran, A mountainous Island. (Arran, a Mountain, Welsh. 
This word does not exist in Irish,) &c. &c. 



58 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

Mr. Chalmers in his Caledonia states that the prevalent 
ancient names of localities in Britain and Ireland are essen- 
tially the same. 

The conclusions to which these facts legitimately and ne- 
cessarily lead are, that the British Islands were originally 
colonized by Settlers, who, at the time of the first occupation 
of Great Britain and Ireland, spoke one uniform language, 
in which the Welsh, Irish, and other living Celtic Dialects 
were combined. We may infer, and I conceive most clearly, 
that these dialects must be viewed in the light of f Disjecta 
Membra' of the speech of the old British and Irish Celts, 
just as the Icelandic, Norwegian, &c. are fragments of the 
ancient f Danska Tunge/ as noticed in the previous section. 

It has been shown by Dr. Prichard that the population of 
Islands has been derived from the neighbouring Continents, 
and that the population of the more distant Islands has been 
derived in like manner from those which are nearer to the 
common source of migration. It is highly unreasonable to 
assume that Ireland has formed an exception to this general 
rule, considering that the common basis of the Irish and 
ancient British or Welsh languages are confessedly the same, 
unless it can be proved that the accompanying differences 
are such as to require the solution Lhuyd has suggested. 
Here, then, the question arises, are the features of difference 
between the Welsh and Irish languages more numerous or 
more fundamental, in relation to the interval of time that has 
elapsed since the Roman Invasion of Britain, than the varieties 
of dialect among the Scandinavian nations are in relation to 
the period that has elapsed since the colonization of Iceland ? 
Now the comparison on this head contained in Appendix C 
will prove, indisputably, that they are not ! It will thence 
be seen that Lhuyd's theory, as to the remote date of the se- 
paration of the Gaelic or Irish from the British or Cymraeg 
branch of the Celts, is founded on an exaggerated conception 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 59 

of the stability of Human Tongues ; and that the abandon- 
ment by various septs of different synonymes used conjointly 
by their common forefathers will satisfactorily account for the 
differences between the Welsh and Irish, to which he attaches 
so much weight. It will be perceived, for example, that in the 
Icelandic, of which the existence commenced in the ninth 
centurv, and the Continental Scandinavian from which it 
then sprang, totally different terms are used for e Water/ the 
very instance to which Lhuyd especially adverts, as regards 
the languages of the Welsh and Irish, whom we know to 
have existed as separate nations in the time of Caesar eighteen 
centuries ago ! 

Another highly instructive test of the correctness of his 
theory may be derived from the investigations of Lhuyd him- 
self, who, in his comparison of the Welsh and Irish languages, 
uniformly distinguished the current terms from the obsolete 
synonymous words that occur only in ancient MSS. This 
comparison, of which a specimen is given in Appendix C, 
proves distinctly that the Irish and Welsh languages approxi- 
mate, as we ascend, at a rate which, if as rapid previously as 
we know it to have been up to the date of the earliest MSS., 
would imply that these languages must have been identical 
about the era of the Roman invasion. As the changes which 
languages undergo in their infancy are more rapid than those 
which occur at later stages of their growth, it is possible 
that the unity of these Tongues may be ascribed even to a 
much later period, an opinion which has been maintained by 
a very judicious and excellent writer, Mr. Edward Davies, 
who in his 6 Claims of Ossian' has published an early specimen 
of Irish Poetry, which in Language and Style he regards as 
identical with the most ancient productions of the Welsh 
Bards. Making every allowance for the irregularity of the 
changes which occur in Languages, I do not conceive it pos- 
sible that the Welsh and Irish could have differed very essen- 



60 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

tially in the time of Caesar. This leads directly to another 
conclusion, viz. that the first colonization of Ireland could 
not have taken place a great many centuries before the Roman 
invasion. Had such been the case, the differences between 
the Welsh and Irish Languages must have been proportion- 
ately more extensive. In the time of the Romans we learn 
that an Irish traitor arrived in Britain, who stated that Ireland 
might be kept in subjection by a single legion, an incident 
which tends, however slightly, to favour the opinion that the 
sister Island was at that period but thinly, perhaps because 
but recently, peopled. 

Of the extent of the changes which the Celtic languages 
have undergone since the first arrival of the Celts in Europe, 
we possess proofs of far more ancient date than the earliest 
literary specimens of the living dialects of the Celtic in the 
Local names of Celtic regions, as preserved in Roman Maps, 
and in the existing languages of the French, English, and 
other nations, who occupy countries of which the Celts were 
the first inhabitants. These names I shall show to consist 
of three elements: A union of 1, Welsh, Cornish, &c. ; 
2, Irish, Highland Scotch, &c. ; and 3, Terms not extant in 
any Celtic Tongue, but preserved in the Oriental, Greek, and 
other languages. 

As regards the Names of the 1 st and 2d Classes, it will 
abundantly appear from the ensuing examples that, in the 
Topographical Nomenclature of Gaul, Britain, and other 
Celtic regions of Europe,* words derived from all the various 
Celtic dialects now extant, occur in a manner that leads dis- 
tinctly to the inference that these ' Disjecta membra 5 must 
have simultaneously belonged to the language of the old 
Celts. Dr. Prichard, who has examined these vestiges of the 

* In this part of the present work I have derived great assistance from Dr. 
Prichard's sound and successful researches, and from the labours of M. Bullet, 
which arc distinguished alike by genius and indefatigable industry. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 61 

ancient Celtic Populations of Europe with much ability and 
success, leans to the opinion that the Cymraeg or Welsh 
Dialects predominate in these names. But the following 
examples, which comprise many names derived from the Irish 
or Gaelic that have not been noticed by Dr. Prichard or by 
previous writers on this subject, will serve to render it mani- 
fest that the ancient Names in Europcea Celtica did, in fact, 
include all the various living Celtic dialects very equally and 
harmoniously blended. 

How luminous and distinct these proofs of the identity of 
the ancient with the modern Celtic nations are, will be better 
understood by a preliminary statement of certain rules, which 
will serve to give greater precision and perspicuity to the il- 
lustrations selected : 

1. There can be no doubt that the Romans, in the Celtic, 
as in other countries conquered by them, modified the native 
terms by the addition of their own peculiar grammatical in- 
flections, as in e Judae-i, Britann-i, Sen-ones/ &c. Now it is 
obvious that in identifying the Celtic terms we must reject 
these mere Roman inflections.* 

2. In many cases the Roman Names cannot be supposed 
to involve complete transcripts of the Celtic Names ; fre- 
quently they were doubtless convenient abbreviations of the 
original names — names consisting of descriptive terms to 
them unintelligible. According to Mr. Reynolds, the Saxons 
generally adopted the first syllable only of the Roman or 
British names they found in this island. According to 
Bullet, e Vic/ a word of Roman origin for a Village or Town, 
has, from similar causes, become common as a Proper name 
in Dauphine ; in modern times we have numerous Villages 
called ' Thorpe/ the name for a Village in Anglo-Saxon and 



* I find M. Bullet in many, and in some few instances Dr. Prichard, have, as 
I conceive, mistaken the Roman inflections for distinct Celtic words. 



62 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

German. In instances of this kind, there can be no doubt 
that originally the names were descriptive, such as ' Long- 
town/ { Old-town/ &c. Tre or Trev is the common Welsh 
word for a Town, Village, or residence ; it had the same 
meaning in Cornwall : 



By Tre, Tres, and Tren, 

You shall know the Cornish men." 



A consequence of the names of the gentry of the county 
having been derived from those of their residences, into 
which this word commonly entered ! 

In Wales we have numerous examples of 'Tre,' as in 
<Tre-Uwng,' 'The Town' of the 'Pool/ (i.e. Welshpool,) 
from an adjoining ' Llyn,' or Pool, near Powis Castle ; f Tre- 
lydan/ the Broad Village, or Residence near Welshpool; 
'Trev-alyn/ near Chester, the Residence on the Stream; 
the 'Alyn/ &c. &c. 

Now according to the Roman mode, such a term as 
Trev-alyn would have been changed into Trev-iri, the de- 
signation actually given to the Celts of ' Treves/ &c. 

The following are analogous examples : 

There is a tribe of Brig-antes in Yorkshire, another in 
Ireland, and a third in the North-east of Spain. Many un- 
successful attempts have been made to show that these dis- 
tant Celtic tribes must have been scions of the same tribe. 
A much simpler explanation may be given. 

By referring to the Roman maps the reader will find a 
word, ' Briga/ in such general use as part of the names of 
towns as to leave no reasonable doubt that it must have 
been, like Tre, a Celtic name for a town — now obsolete. 
Thus in Spain we have, Laco-briga, Meido-briga, Ara-briga, 
Tala-brica, Augusto-briga, &c. Now the analogous instances 
already noticed suffice to point out that the occurrence of 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 63 

Brig-antes as a Roman name of Tribes in three Celtic 
countries, is a natural result of the frequent occurrence of 
Briga as the first part of the names of Celtic places. 

The e Allo-bryg-es. ' The name of this warlike tribe, the 
Celtic inhabitants of Savoy, has also been the source of per- 
plexity, which may be removed in the same manner. This 
tribe had a town, called by the Romans ' Brig-icum/ which 
was said to be " the only one they had." * Now Allo-Bryga 
may reasonably be identified with Alpo- Briga, the Town of 
the Alps (Briga being clearly the common base of € Allo- 
bryg-es/ and c Brig-icum.') 

The names of Celtic communities, as they appear on the 
Roman Maps, may, I conceive, be proved to have been de- 
scriptive of the most prominent natural features of the re- 
gions they inhabited, and not of their lineage or descent, as 
seems to have been often supposed. Thus we have the 
Mor-ini in Belgium, and the Ar-mor-ici in Gaul on the Sea ; 
we have the Sen-ones on the Seine, the Tamar-ici on the 
Tamar-is, in Hispania, &c. In the Mountainous regions it 
will be observed that the names of tribes are derived from the 
Mountains. In the flat countries they take their names 
from Rivers or the confluence of Rivers. In the same man- 
ner it is highly deserving of remark, that the names of the 
different French Departments have been derived from precisely 
the same natural features. Thus in the Hilly countries we 
have the Departments of the High Alps, e Hautes Alpes f 
of the Low Alps, ' Basses Alpes f in the Champaign 
countries the Departments are named from the Rivers ; such 
as the Seine, the Marne, and the Somme, &c. Many of 
these French names are literally equivalent to translations of 
the ancient Gaulish names, as interpreted by means of the 
Welsh and Irish languages. It is impossible to conceive a 

* MalteBrun. 



64 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

more perfect verification of the accuracy of these interpre- 
tations ! 

I may here observe, that as far as we can perceive, the 
various independent communities of Britain and Gaul men- 
tioned by Caesar, such as the Edui, the Venetes, &c, did not 
consist of one clan or sept, they seem rather to have been a 
combination of several contiguous septs, to whom no appro- 
priate common name could have been given, except one de- 
rived from the natural features of the district they occupied. 

The durability of local names has been already noticed. Of 
this truth we possess remarkable proofs in those of localities 
in France, as preserved by the modern French to the present 
day. I do not doubt that the present French names are, in 
many instances, much more faithful transcripts of the original 
Celtic appellations than those which occur in the Roman Maps 
are. Thus, for example, Bonomia, a name conferred by the 
Romans upon Boulogne, and of which the origin has per- 
plexed Antiquaries, may easily be explained as a Roman ab- 
breviation of the word Boulogne itself, of which the Celtic 
meaning will be shown hereafter to be appropriate and un- 
equivocal. Here it may be noticed, that the Celtic language 
did not become extinct in Gaul until many centuries after 
the termination of the Roman sway and the establishment of 
the Franks in that country. The use of the old Gaulish or 
Celtic continued until the eighth century, nearly until the time 
of Charlemagne * Now we know that the modern Welsh 
and Irish, for the most part, continue to use their own pri- 
mitive names of localities in those cases in which abbrevia- 
tions or translations have been substituted by the English. 
There canbe no reasonable doubt that the ancient Gauls did the 
same, and that these names were in use among the inhabitants 

• Kerdanet's History of the Language of the Gauls and Armoricans, translated 
hy David Lewis, Esq., in the Cambrian Quarterly Magazine. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 65 

of each locality at the time of the final subjugation of Gaul 
by the Franks, by whom, in many instances, these names are 
more likely to have been adopted than those used by the 
Romans. 

It will also be observed in the course of the following ex- 
amples, that names of the class about to be noticed, viz., 
Topographical names of which the elements are not extant in 
the existing Celtic dialects, but occur in Oriental words, &c, 
are remarkably well preserved by the modern French. Thus 
the e Aube,' as pronounced by the French, is identical in sound 
with the Asiatic terms for Water, and names of Rivers, to 
which it is allied. 

3. By many, perhaps by all those Celtic scholars who 
have investigated this subject, it has been assumed that the 
living Celtic dialects may be expected to furnish a complete 
clue to all the Local Names of ancient Celtic regions. This 
conclusion, like the theory of Lhuyd above discussed, is 
founded on an exaggerated idea of the stability of Human 
Tongues ! Neither the Irish nor the Welsh, nor a combina- 
tion of all the Celtic dialects, will be found to afford a com- 
plete solution of the Topographical nomenclature of the 
ancient Celtic regions of Europe. Names undoubtedly occur 
in these countries which have been preserved in none of the 
Celtic tongues, names which I shall indisputably show to be 
positive transcripts, in many instances, of appropriate terms 
occurring in the Hebrew and other languages, with which, 
in other parts of this work, the original Celtic dialects will 
be proved to have been originally identical. These facts lead 
to the conclusion that the ancient nomenclature of Celtic 
countries forms in reality a connecting link between the ex- 
isting dialects of the Celts and the language of the Oriental 
stock from which they are descended. 

This conclusion, though at variance with the views of many 
estimable writers, is nevertheless in unison with those antici- 

5 



66 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

pations which historical facts legitimately suggest. It is 
only reasonable to infer that since the period of their first 
arrival in Europe, the era at which many of these names 
must have been conferred (see page 10), the Celtic tribes 
must have lost many words which none of the modern 
Celtic nations have preserved. The Celts were settled about 
the sources of the " Ister, and the city/ 5 (perhaps the moun- 
tains) u of Pyrene," even in the time of Herodotus, and how 
many ages had elapsed since their first arrival is unknown !* 

There is a certain Class of terms of which the meaning 
can reasonably be inferred from their extensive use in com- 
bination with other terms, of which the meaning may be 
considered as ascertained. To this class may be referred the 
terms immediately following. 

Catti, Cassii, Casses, or Cad, seem to have meant a People, 
Tribe, &c, as in the following examples of the names of 
Celtic Tribes : 

The Abr-in-Catui, in Normandy. The Catti-euch-lani, 
the people of Cambridgeshire and the adjoining counties. 
The Cassii, in Hertfordshire. The Bidu- casses, in Normandy. 
The Tri-casses, a people in Champagne. The Cad-ur-ci, on 
the Garonne. 

The above words seem clearly derivable from the following 
Welsh words, which are allied to the Hebrew : 

WELSH. HEBREW. 

From Kiw-dod (Kiw-dod-ae, Gow, a Body of Men, a So- 

plur.) a Clan, a Na- ciety or Association, 
tion. 

Kiw-ed, a Multitude, Gowee, a Nation. 

a Tribe. 

Kyf, a Body or Trunk, Gow, Gowe, Goweeth, the 

a Pedigree. Body of a Man or Animal. 

* Prichard on the Celtic Languages. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 67 

Tre, Trev, a Village, Town, or Residence, (Welsh,) a 
Tribe, {Irish.)* 

Trev-iri, the people of Treves. A-Treb-ates, the people 
about Arras. (For further examples see Dr. Prichard's work.) 
Trev is a common element in names of places in Wales, as 
Tre-vecca, Tre-gynnon. 

Trigo, to reside, dwell, ( Welsh.) 

Duro-trig-es, the dwellers on the Water or Sea, the people 
of Dorsetshire. (Camden.) 
Catt uriges. (See Dour.) 

Dun-um, a Hill, a Fort or Town, generally on a Hill, 
(occurs in Welsh and Irish,) 

Oxell-dunum, a Hill-fort in Gaul, described by Caesar. 
(See numerous instances in Dr. Prichard's work.) 

e Castell Din-as Bran,' on a lofty eminence in the Vale of 
Llangollen, Wales. 

Dur, Duvr, Awethur (Welsh), Dour (Cornish), Dur (Ar- 
morican), Dovar (Irish, obsolete, but occurs in ancient 
MSS.) < Water.' 

This word, and Ydor or Hudor (Greek), and Tschur 
(Armenian), e Water/ have an obvious affinity. These forms 
may be traced in the names of Celtic Localities, 

6 Dour' occurs in the following names of Rivers : Dur, 
(Hibernia,) Dur-ia Major, ' The Doria,' and Duria Minor, 
(Gallia Cisalpina,) Dur-ius, ' The Douro,' and * Dero,' 
(Hispania,) Dur-anius, ' The Dordogne,' (Gallia), In 
Bucharian Deria means c The Sea.' 

Ydor or Hudor (Greek), Awethur (Welsh), occur in the 

* Tribus (Latin.) 



68 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

Rivers c The Adour/* Atur-is (Gallia), 'The Adder' 
(Britain), < The Adare' (Ireland.) 

'Tschur 5 (Armenian), occurs in 'Stura' (Gallia Cis.), 
'The Stour' (Britain), 'The Suir' (Britain fy Ireland), 
' The Souro' (Spain, a branch of the Tagus.) 

From the frequent recurrence of all these different forms 
in several Celtic countries thus widely separated, it is plain 
that they were used conjointly by the early Celts, and repre- 
sent various transitions of the same word. Thus e Stura' 
(in Gal. Cis.), flows between the neighbouring streams 
Duria Major and Duria Minor, &c. 

This word c Dour 5 enters very largely into the names of 
tribes ; it forms singly a natural clue to a great number of 
names that hitherto have been referred to a complication of 
Roots. Thus the Roman name for the people of Dorsetshire, 
Duro-trig es, i. e. The dwellers on the Water or the Ocean, 
has been noticed by Camden. 

In the preceding, and in several of the following, it will be 
apparent that the old Celts applied this term to the 4 Sea or 
Ocean/ as the Bucharians do, and also to a 'River. 5 At 
present the Welsh apply the term to Water only, in a re- 
stricted sense. 

In the South-east of England names abound (applied to 
places on Rivers or the Sea) in which the two slight varia- 
tions of Dur and Du-v-r (or Do-v-ar, Irish), still preserved 
in Welsh, are apparent. Duro-vern-um, « Canterbury/ from 
Duro, Water, and Vera or Veryn, a Hill. (Compare the 
name of the 'Ar-vern-i/ under Beryn, at p. 78.) The 
Town was on a Hill by the Stour. 

Portus Du-b-r-is or Dub-r-ce, i. e. < Sea Port/ the modern 



• As previously noticed, the French names handed down from the old Gauls 
are probably often nearer the Celtic than the Latin names. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 69 

e Do-v-or/ a word which is an echo of the Irish Dovar and 
the Welsh Du-v-r. 

Duro-brivae, Rochester on the Medway, (Briva or Brivis, 
the ancient Celtic for a Town.) Duro-levum, Milton on the 
Thames. 

Lan-du-b-r-is, a Portuguese Island. Lan, a Bank of a 
Stream, or the Sea: also an inclosed Space, (Welsh.) 

Tur-ones, the inhabitants of the country at the junction of 
several streams with the Loire, the neighbourhood of the 
modern Tours. 

Bi tur-ig-es, from Bi e Two/ Tur or Dour, Water, and trigo, 
to reside. 

There are two tribes of this name in Gaul ; the Bituriges 
Cubi, situated between two of the branches of the Loire, and 
the Bi-turi-ges Vobisci, between the Garonne and the Sea, 
at the junction of the Dordogne and the Garonne. 

Cat-ur-iges, from Catti, Tribes or People; Dour, Water, 
and Trigo, to reside ; on the Durentia, South-east of France, 
about Embrun or Eburo-Dunum, which was their principal 
town. Cad-ur-ci, from Catti, Tribes, and dur. 

There is one tribe of this name on the Dordogne, and 
another contiguously placed on the Garonne. 

The mutual support that these interpretations give to each 
other will be obvious. 

The following Irish word for * Water/ which is not extant 
in the Welsh, may be traced in Celtic regions in its various 
modifications: Uisge (Irish), ' The Usk' (South Britain) — 
Eask* {Irish, obsolete), < The Esk' (Scotland), 'TheEscaut 5 
(North of France), Isca, 'The Exe' (South Britain) — Easkong 
(Irish, obsolete), Axona (Gallia, Belg.), e The Aisne/ 
Axones, the neighbouring tribe. 

• Esseg, < Wuter,' (Dongolan, North Africa.) 



70 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 



NAMES OF ESTUARIES, OR MOUTHS OF STREAMS. 

The terms of this class, which occur in ancient Gaul, &c, 
consist either of terms still thus applied in the living Celtic 
dialects, or of compounds of which the elements may be re- 
cognized, unchanged, in those dialects. Moreover it will be 
highly interesting to observe that these terms, for the most 
part, consist of Metaphors derived respectively from the same 
sources as the two English words c Estuary 5 and e Mouth/ 
and the two Latin words c iEstuarium' and * Os Fluminis.' 

One of the principal arguments of those writers who 
maintain that the separation of the Irish from the other 
Celtic tribes must have been of remoter date than the first 
peopling of these islands, is founded on the fact that the 
Irish use the word In-ver for the Mouth of a Stream, while 
the Welsh use Ab-ber (spelt Aber) ; a feeble support for so 
wide a conclusion, which a correct analysis of these terms, 
and a comparison of some interesting coincidences in the 
local names of ancient Gaul will show to be utterly futile ! 
In-ver and Ab-ber are not simple but compound terms, 
literally corresponding to the Latin expression * Fluminis 
iEstuarium.' ^Estuarium is from ^Estuo, ' To boil,' a meta- 
phorical term, obviously derived from the agitation of the 
Waters where two Streams meet, or where a River enters 
the Sea. 

In the first syllable < Inver 5 and < Ab-ber' differ, but they 
agree in the last. Both < In 5 and < Ab/ the first syllables of 
these terms, occur so often in Celtic regions that there 
can be no doubt they were both in use among the ancient 
Celts as words for a River, or Water. The last syllable of 
these words, Ber or Ver, I shall show to mean an < Estuary.' 

'In' occurs in the name of < The Inn,' in the Tyrol, the 
( ^En-us' of the Romans, and in other instances previously 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 71 

noticed. ' An 5 is a Gaelic or Irish term for c Water,' which 
is identical in sound and sense with terms of frequent occur- 
rence among the tribes of the American Continent, as in 
Aouin (Flurons, N. America), Jin Jin (Kolushians, extreme 
North-west of N. America), Ueni (Maipurians, S. America.) 

i Ab 5 occurs in ( The Aube/ in France, &c, a name of 
which the pronunciation may be considered identical with 
Ab, ( Water/ [Persian.) Ap in Sanscrit, and Ubu Obe in 
Affghan, mean e Water/ c Obe' occurs in Siberia as the name 
of a well-known river. In India also the term has been ap- 
plied to ( Rivers f thus we have in that country the Punj-ab, 
(the Province of e The Five Rivers,') an appellation of which 
the corresponding Celtic terms f Pump-ab' would be almost 
an echo ! 

Further it may here be noticed — as an example of the 
complete identity of the Celtic and Oriental languages when 
all the ' Disjecta Membra' are compared — that this word does 
not exist in the modern Celtic in the simple form of Ab, but 
in the derivative form of Avon, which is found in the Roman 
maps spelt ' Abon/ &c. Now this form also occurs in the 
East. Abinn, ' A River, 5 is given by Klaproth from the lan- 
guage of the inhabitants of the Mountains to the North of 
Bhagalpur. Apem means ' Water/ in Zend, an ancient 
Persian dialect. Af is f Water/ in Kurdish. 

c Berw 5 is the South Welsh name for the effervescence in 
the deep receptacle in which a Cataract foams after its fall ; 
it is applied also to the Cataract itself, as ' Berw Rhondda/ 
the fall of the River Rhondda. 

Aber, in Cornish, means e a Confluence of Rivers/ also 
' a Gulf,' * a Whirlpool: * 

In Breton or Armorican Aber means * a confluence of 
Rivers. 5 " Dans le diocese de Vannes," says Bullet, " le mot 

* This word is marked thus t in the Cornish Vocabularies, as being extinct. 



72 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

" a encore une autre signification, c'est cel/e de torrent." " In 
" the diocese of Vannes this word has still another meaning, 
"viz., that of 'a Torrent !'" (Compare Torr-ens (Latin), 
< Torrent' (English), from Torreo (Latin), ' To boil. 5 " Aber, 
" in a deflected sense/' he says, " has been applied to a 
" Harbour; hence Havre de Grace !" 

" It is a curious fact," says Chalmers, U which we learn 
" from the Charters of the twelfth century, that the Scoto- 
" Irish people substituted Inver for the previous Aber of the 
" Britons. David I. granted to the Monastery of May Tnver- 
" In qui fuit Aher-In in Chart May."* This remarkable place 
is at the " Influx of a small stream, called the In, on the coast 
" of Fife. Both appellations are now lost." 

Among the names of ancient Celtic regions we have Abrin- 
catui, that is (without any change in the word) Aber-In-Catui ; 
the name of a Tribe in Normandy, about Avranches, which 
is at the mouth of a River now called the See. (Another 
stream flows into the same Estuary.) 

Aber — In — Cattui. 

Literally, 

c Estuary (of the) River — Tribes or People/ 
i. e. The Tribes living at the Estuary of the River or Rivers. 

The name of the same place will also furnish an example 
of a corresponding term, primarily meaning 'The Mouth,' in 
the modern Celtic. 

Gence (Welsh), Ganau (Cornish), Gion (Irish), Genu 
(Armorican), mean c The Mouth.' 

The original name of c Avranches/ when the country was 
first subdued by the Romans, was In-' ge?ia.' Here it is 
plain e Gena' was synonymous with Aber ! The Town was 
afterwards called Aber-in-Catui by the Romans, who very 
generally gave the names of the Celtic tribes to their prin- 
cipal Towns. 

' Chalmers's Caledonia. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 73 

In D'Anville's Map we find, in the same part of Gaul, 
Ara-genu-s given to Bayeux, (the capital of the Bajocasses,) 
at the mouth of a river now called the e Ayr !' 

The following are very striking examples of the occurrence 
of the same word, Genoe or Ganau : 

' Gano -durum' (Dur water) Constance, at the spot where 
the Rhine issues out of Lake Constance. 

f Geneva.' (The Rhone issues here from the Lake, and is 
immediately afterwards joined by the Arve.) 

' Genua' (Genoa). At the mouth of a stream. 

'Albium In-gaun-um,' a town to the east of Genoa, 
where many streams from the Maritime Alps unite in one 
mouth. 

Beal or Bel {Irish), Buel [Manx), ' A Mouth.' This is 
another word, applied in Wales and Ireland, in topographical 
names, in nearly the same sense as Aber, as in Bala, at the 
mouth of a lake, North Wales, Bally-shannon, Ireland. This 
word does not occur either in vernacular Welsh or in the 
Welsh of old MSS. But in Irish, Beal or Bel is still the 
common word for ' A Mouth. 1 

We shall find unequivocal proofs that this word also was 
used by the old Celts of Gaul, as in ' Boulogne,' i. e. Bala 
(Beal, or Buel) Liane, e The mouth of the Liane.' The town 
is at the mouth of a small stream, of which Bullet, who does 
not appear to have suspected the derivation, says u La riviere 
" qui passe a Boulogne s'appelle Liane. — The stream that 
" runs by Boulogne is called Liane !" * Liane, Lune,' &c. is 
a common proper name for a stream in all countries of which 
the Celts formed the first population. Lliant (Llian-au, plur.) 
means a stream, a torrent, in Welsh ; Llyn, 'Water,' in Welsh; 
and Lean, Irish. Hence ' The Lune' in Herefordshire, &c. 

A further example of words of this Class occurs in the 
Latin name of the ' Humber.' 

This great receptacle of streams was generally called Ab-us; 



74 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

but Ptolomey, in Greek, gives the name more fully, < Abon- 
trus !'* This word means in Welsh and Irish ' The Outlet, or 
literally ( The Door 5 of the Rivers. Trus, A Door, (Drous, 
Welsh, Doros, Irish,) occurs in the same sense in Tura 
(Sanscrit), Der (Persian). Hence it appears that the Welsh 
word, which is nearer to the term preserved in this name, 
has not been borrowed from the English e Door P 

' Aber/ however, was the greatest favorite with the ancient 
Celts, as with the modern Cymry ! It would seem that this 
word ' Aber' was as commonly applied in ancient Gaul, &c. 
as it still is in Wales, not merely to the mouths of large rivers, 
but to places situated at those of very small streams !f 

Britain. — York, Ebor-acum (Caer Eboranch, Welsh; Ever- 
wick, Saxon.) Is inclosed for the most part between the 
Ouse and the Foss, which unite close to the Town ! The 
river Foss separates some parts of the Town from the rest. 

Eburo-cass-um (Alnewick), at the mouth of the River Alne, 
Northumberland. Ever-wick is the name of an adjoining 
Village on the same river. 

Eburo-nes (Belgic. Gaul). About the junction of the 
Saba and the Mosa. Caesar states in his account of them 
that this tribe had no Town. 

There was a prince of the CEduansJ in Caesar's time, named 
Eporo-dor-ix, apparently from Aber-Dour i Water/ and Rex. 
The Gaulish chiefs, like those of the Gaelic Scotch, seem to 
have frequently derived their names from their peculiar ter- 

* Ab-us, (Anton.) Ab-on-trus, Ab-ou-trus, Ab-ou, (Ptolomey.) Baxter 
suggests Abon trus4, < The Noise of the Rivers/ an allusion, as he supposes, to 
the noise of the currents. But this explanation involves a change in the second 
word, and a fanciful construction of the sense of the terms employed. 

f It is only by a very minute and careful investigation of Maps, ancient and 
modern, that I have been enabled to verify the correctness of this and many other 
Celtic derivations. 

% A powerful Gaulish Tribe in the East of Gaul. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 75 

ritories or patrimonies ; in the same manner, for instance, 
as the chiefs ' Lochiel, Glengarry/ &c. 

As before intimated, it appears pretty clear that the little 
nations into which Gaul was divided, such as the Ceno-mani, 
the CEdui, &c. consisted for the most part of a combination 
of several distinct septs or clans each under their respective 
princes. The name of the chief (Eporo-dor-ix) just men- 
tioned may, therefore — and most probably must — have been 
derived from that of some place no longer capable of being 
identified, though the country of the (Edui, the source of 
many rivers, abounds in localities to which it would apply 
very appropriately ! 

Gaul. — Eburo-dunum (now Embrun in Dauphine.) At 
the confluence of a small stream with the Durance. 

Since writing the above I find this town in Hornius' map, 
marked c Epeb r-o-duru,' i. e. ( Mouth of the Water,' (Welsh.) 

Eburo-briga, a Town. At the junction of one of the streams 
that feed the Seine above Sens. 

Ebro-lacum. A Town near the source of the Loire ; pre- 
cise situation apparently unknown. But the affinity of 
' Ebro' to the Celtic c Aber,' and the identity of Lac (um) 
with Loch * or Lach, the Gaelic for a Lake or Water, will be 
obvious. 

Avar-icum (Bourges), at the junction of the L'Evrette with 
the Evre, one of the branches of the Cher. 

Switzerland. — Ebro-dunum, ' Yverdun/ at the mouth of 
the river Orbe, that flows there into the Lake of Neuf-chatel. 

Spain and Portugal. — Eburo-britz-ium, the modern Alco- 
baza or Alco-baca, on the Portuguese coast, between the 

• Lucus {Latin.) 



76 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

Tagus and the Mondego, and not far from Torres Vedras. 
This town is at the mouth of the Alcoa river. The modern 
name, Alco-baca, ( e The mouth of the Alcoa/) is a guarantee 
of the correctness of the above construction of the ancient 
name !* 

In the North-east of Spain, on the Bay of Biscay, we meet 
with the word Aber itself in an undisguised form, as we do 
in Gaul in the word Abr-in-catui. 

There is a town, XJx&m-aber, on a river called in Roman 
Maps the Uch-esia.f This is an unfortunate word for the 
advocates of the Spanish origin of the Irish, for here we have 
the Welsh Aber, in lieu of the Gaelic Inver, in the North of 
Spain — the very district from which the Colony is supposed 
to have come ! Indeed the Local names in the Celtic regions 
of Spain generally approach much more nearly to the Welsh 
than to the Irish ! This will be seen in some of the following 
examples. 

Glan or Lan, ' a Sea shore or Margin/ ( Welsh,) not extant 
in Irish. 

Glan a tuia (Glandeves), at the junction of a small stream 
with the Varus, that separates France and Italy. 

Glan-um, on the Puech River, near Embrun. 

Cat-a-laun-i. A tribe resident about Chalons on the Seine. 

Cat-a-laun-i. ' People (of) the river bank/ The name 
originally given to this town by the Romans was Duro-Cat-a- 
laun-i, i.e. (The Town of ) 'the Tribe on the Bank of the 
River or Water. 9 

Llanes, a place on the coast of Asturia. (The aspirated 
LI of the Spaniards is very like the Welsh LI, and is most 



* This is one of the numerous instances in which, judging merelv from ancient 
Maps, or from the less minute modern Maps, (on which ttiis stream is not 
marked,) the situation of a place seems inconsistent with the derivation sug- 
gested. 

t Hornius's ancient Map. This place is very near to Bilboa. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 77 

probably a relic of Celtic pronunciation.) Lancia (Ciudad 
Rodrigo,) Lancia (Guarda.) 

Lan-dubr-is. 6 The Shore or Margin of the Sea or Water/ 
or a spot inclosed by the Sea.* An Island, in Latin Maps, 
on the coast of Portugal. 

' The Lan-des.' The well-known arid sandy deserts form- 
ing the South-eastern coast of France. 

Medio -lan-um.f Medd, the middle, (Celtic,) and Lan. 
Towns thus designated seem to have been situated either 
at the Curve or Winding of a stream, or inclosed between 
two streams. 

I may instance — in Cisalpine. 

Gaul. Medio-lan-um, Milan. 

Mediolanum (Sunt ones), on the Loire. 

(Eburovices Aulerci), Evreux, Normandy. 

(Bituriges Cubi), inclosed between two wind- 
ing streams, which are the sources of the Loire. Bi-tur-iges 
is from a synonyme, Bi, two, and Dour, Water. 

D61, " A wind, a bow, a turn, a meander, a dale or mead, 
" through which a river runs," ( Welsh t )% as in Dol-Vorwyn 
and Dol-Vorgan, Montgomeryshire, North Wales; 'Dole,' the 
ancient capital of Franche Compte. (Compare the situation.) 

Lut-ecia,§ Paris, seems clearly to have derived its name 
from its situation among marshes. " Situee dans une isle 
"de la Seine environnce de marais profonds, difficiles a 
" traverser, qui communiquent a ce fleuve." (Bullet, from 
Strabo.) 

Llath-ach, < Mud, Dirt/ {Irish,) Llaith, Moist, (Welsh.) 

Lug-dunum or Lau dunum.|| ' Laon,' built on the Summit 
of a Hock divided into two branches. Lug, from Llech, a 

• Lan means au inclosed spot in Welsh. t Medius (Latin.) 

I Dr. W. O. Pughe's Welsh Dictionary. $ Lutum (Latin.) 

|| Dunum, a Hill Fort. 



78 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

Stone. Clog, a detached rock, ( Welsh.) Liag, a great Stone. 
Leagan Kloiche, a Rock, (Irish.) 

In the following instances the identity of the Gaulish and 
other Celtic names with the Welsh is remarkably clear, and 
will be vividly felt by persons vernacularly familiar with the 
Welsh language, and the most common local names in 
Wales. 

The e Bretons/ Ar-mor-ici. Ar, ' On/ Mor, e the Sea/ 

The people of a Hilly Region in the South-east of France, 
Ar-e-com-ici. 

Coum, c a Hollow Circular Valley, or Depression/ ( Welsh.) 
This word is the source of the numerous names of places in 
England ending in Combe. The Oriental origin of the word 
is clearly traceable. After describing the great Table-land 
of Central Asia as extending over the whole of Persia, Ritter 
adds : w Towards e Koom/ (in Persia,) we find the greatest 
" depression, in the Table-land ; here the surface sinks to 
"2046 feet!"* 

There are also the ' Com-oni/ above Toulon, and Com-us, 
' Como/ to which the word is peculiarly appropriate. (Bullet.) 

The People of Auvergne. Ar-vern-i, ' On the Hills.' 
Veryn or Beryn is a Hill in Welsh. Thus ' Cevn y Beryn/ 
is the name of a Hill in Montgomeryshire. 

By Plutarch the Ar-vern-i are called Ar-ben-i. This is a 
very interesting addition to our information. c Veryn' and 
' Ben' are both synonymes extant in Welsh for * a Hill/ 

We have the same words repeated in the following in- 
stances, joined with Um (Irish), Am (Welsh), £ About/ 
(Compare the Greek Amphi.) 

Um-benn-i, 'The People (living) about the Hills.' A 
Swiss Tribe. 

Um-bran-ici (from Beryn or Bron, Welsh,) a name of the 
Helvii mountaineers to the South-east of the Cevennes. 

* Asia, by Carl Ritter and others. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 79 

In the following names, again, we have Pen or Ben, and 
Beryn or Bron, alone. 

Ben-ones, a Mountain Tribe in Switzerland. 

Breun-i, on the borders of Bavaria and the Tyrol. 

Bern-enses, the people of Berne, in Switzerland, and also 
those of Bearne, in the South of France, adjoining the 
Pyrenees. 

A-Pen-inus Mons. Alpes Pen-inae, the Alps immediately 
to the South of Geneva. Vallis Pen-ina, the Valley of the 
Rhone. 

The primary sense of Pen, in Welsh, is * the Head.' As 
observed at page 11, the names for Hills in that language 
are metaphors from * the Head, the Breast,' &c. Now it is 
observable that in ancient Celtic Europe a difference of ap- 
plication corresponding to the different primary meanings of 
the terms is discoverable. Alpes is the general name for the 
Alps. (Alpes) Pen-inae, a term derived from the Head, are 
the lofty and abrupt Alps, as distinguished from Alpes 
Maritimae, &c. 

In Spain and Portugal. Pena-s da Europa, (North of 
Spain.) Cape Pena-s, (in the Asturias.) Pen-a Longa, a 
Town adjoining the long ridge called the Sierra da St. 
Catherina in Portugal. 

Gebenn-a Mons, the Cevenn-es, ' South of France.' 
Cevenn-es, (omitting e es,' French plural,) is identical with 
Cevn, c a Back,' ( a Hill,' as in Cevn y Coed, the name of a 
hill in Montgomeryshire, ( Welsh.) 

The Irish Gibhis, ' a Valley,' is from the same source. 
Names of ' Valleys and Hills' are generally composed of the 
same roots. (Similiter the Latin word ' Altus' means both 
■ High 5 and Deep !) A Valley is, in fact, formed by Hills ! 

These various meanings and inflections are found united 
in the Hebrew. 



80 



DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 



Hebrew. 



Ga . e, to rise. 



Goun, -> 

or > Swelling. 
Gav . n, y 



i Gee a. 

C Ga . oun, plur. A val- 
ley, or " more properly 
" a lawn rising to the 
" top of the adjoining 
" hill." 



Gve, or Gou e, to be high, 
gibbous, or curved. 

Gb, the Back. 

Gbn, Hunch backed. 



a Mountain. 



G.b.oe, > 
G.b.o.th, S 
G . b . o . the, the Slope 
of a Mountain. 



Derivatives. 

•Kuh, a Mountain. 

(Persian.) 

Kof. (Pehlwi.) 

Gev . n, 
or 

Cev. n, the Back, the 
Ridge of a Hill. 

(Welsh.) 

Geib-his, Gibhis, a Val- 
ley. (Irish.) 

The Ghauts, Mountains 
in Asia. 

Gibb-osus. (Latin.) 



Goupp en, a chain of Hills in Switzerland. (Bullet.) 

Alp. Dr. Owen Pughe quotes many classical authors to 
show that the word meant in Gallish a lofty Mountain. In 
the mountains of Glamorganshire, he adds, it is still used for 
a craggy summit. 

Alp-es. Allo-bryges, from Alp- and (briga).f Brigi-cum 
was their only town. To the South-east of the Allobryges 
were the Hel-v-ii, (Alba their capital.) To the North the 
Hel-v-etii, (Vod in Welsh, a Residence.) Both names were 
probably from Al-p. 

Nant, (Nan-au, plural,) a Mountain Valley, ' a Mountain 
Stream/ (Welsh.) This word is still in use in Savoy. (See 
Dr. Prichard's remarks.) J 

Nannet-es, a Tribe in Britany, and 

Nant-uates, a Tribe occupying the valley of the Rhine 
below its source. 

Nang-ates, the people of Connaught. This is one of nu- 



* Hence the ' Hindoo-Knb.' t A Town. 

t Celtic Ethnography, in Dr. Prichard's work on < Man.' 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 81 

merous instances of local names in Ireland, of which the 
sense has been lost in the Irish and still preserved in the 
Welsh. 

Cori, or Corrie, means a hollow between hills. A glen 
or 'Cleugh/ a small stream.* (A word of Celtic origin, 
Jamieson's Etymological Diet, of the Scottish Language.) 

This word appears to be in use both in the Highlands and 
Lowlands of Scotland ; the first a Gaelic, the second origi- 
nally a Cymraeg district. (See Chalmers's Caledonia.) 

Sir Walter Scott has very gracefully introduced this ancient 
word in the beautiful e Coronach/ or Funeral-song of the 
Clansman, in the ' Lady of the Lake :' 

" He is gone from the mountain, 
He is gone from the forest, 
Like a summer-dried fountain, 
When our need was the sorest. 



Fleet loot on the cur re 
Sage counsel in cumber 

Red hand in the foray, 

How sound is thy slumber ! " 



To this passage Sir Walter Scott has added the following 
note : t " Corrie or Cori. The hollow side of the hill where 
" game usually lies !" 

I conceive a comparison of the following examples will 
serve to render it indisputable that this term may be accepted 
as a clue to a great number of the most important topo- 
graphical names of Gaul and Britain, which have hitherto 
eluded the researches of Celtic scholars. 



• The word, in the sense of a stream, seems to be confined to such streams as 
traverse the bottoms of narrow glens. 

t This word occurs in a variety of mutually connected meanings in the Hebrew 
and Celtic. 

6 



DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 
HEBREW. CELTIC. 

C.r, To surround, go round. Cor. A Circle, (Welsh.) 
A pasture or Circuit Cor-lan. A Sheepfold, 

for Cattle. (Welsh.) 

A Lamb. Ka ora, or Kyra. A Sheep, 

(Irish.) 
A ' Cor.' A measure so 
called from its round 
form. 
C . ee . ou . r. A Round Pot, < Cori/ or Corrie. " The 
or Caldron. <e hollow side of the Hill 

" where the game usually 

C.r.e. To dig, as a Well "lies." (Sir W. Scott.) A 

or Pit. Hollow between Hills. A 

Cleugh. (Jamieson.) 

The Tri-Cori-i. From Tre and Cori. A tribe who in- 
habited the modern French Department of the ( High Alps,' 
an Alpine region, the source of numerous streams which feed 
the Rhone and its branches. 

The Petro-Cori-i.* The inhabitants of the Departments of 
Dordogne and Correze. Dordogne is thus described by 
Malte Brun : 

" We may pass from the Department of Lot to that of 
u Dordogne by descending the last river which traverses it 
u on the South from East to West. It is also watered by the 
" Ille, the Dronne, the Vezere, and by more than fourteen 
" hundred small rivers and streams. Hills extend along this 
" country in every direction, but with the exception of two 
" vallies, those watered by the Ille and the Dordogne, they 
" bound only narrow passes, almost all of which are desolated 
" by torrents !" 



• Petro is said to mean a Rock, in Gaulish names, by some French Celtic 
scholars. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 83 

Correze. From the same authority we learn that two 
thirds of this department consists of a mountainous region, 
full of " ravines and precipices," and that its scenery pro- 
gressively assumes more of this wild and romantic character 
as you ascend the river Correze, which gives its name to the 
Department, and to its principal town. Correze is plainly 
derived from Cori.* 

The Cori-tan-i. A British tribe in Derbyshire, &c, from 
Cori and Tania, an addition frequently made by the Romans 
to the name of a province or district, as in Aqui-tania, 
Mauri-tania. Camden expresses himself totally unable to 
explain this term satisfactorily. 

The following are partly composed of ancient Celtic Topo- 
graphical Names, of which the appropriate meanings have 
not been preserved f in the Welsh and Irish, &c, but are 
found in the Oriental and other languages. 

6 Eryr-i/ the Welsh name of the Snowdon Mountains. 
This word has been variously explained by Welsh scholars, 
as meaning the i Snowy Mountain* (from Eira, c Snow'), the 
c Eagles' Mountain,' &c. None of these explanations are 
appropriate. Moreover ' Eryr-i* is not the name of a single 
peak, but of the Snowdon range of mountains ! c E . r . r' 
is a pure Hebrew word, signifying a very high mountain,:]: 
from which c Eryr-i/ the name of the Snowdon range, the 
highest in South Britain, is a plural regularly formed ! 

Cimas da Our-ar-as, are high Mountains to the North of 
Lisbon. 

Ban-nau Brycheiniog, f the Brecon Beacons,' lofty hills 
in Brecknockshire. Ban de la Roche, the celebrated Pastor 



* Hence, also, as may be inferred, the Curi-osilitae in Brittany. 

f In such instances, however, the Celtic generally presents words approaching 
in sound and sense to those occurring in the Local names, though not so near to 
them as the Oriental terms, <fcc. 

J E . r, a Mountain; by reduplication E . r . r, a very high Mountain (Heh.) 



84 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL. 

Oberlin's residence among the Vosges Mountains, in the 
East of France. Ban, < Lofty/ ( Welsh,) Bian, a Hill, ( Irish,) 
Boun-os, a Hill, (Greek,) Ban-k (English), a diminutive. 

Bal. " Applied in Wales to Mountains that terminate in 
"a Peak. Balannu, to shoot or spring forth." (Dr. W. 
Owen Pughe.) Belan is also applied to Hills, as 6 Nant y 
Belan/ near Wynnstay. Bala, Bulund (Persian), Beland 
(Peh/wi), Bulund (Zend), < High/ 

e The Don and the Dune,' Rivers in Scotland. Trev-i don, 
i. e. ' the Town of, or on the River,' a place on the river 
Tarn, in the South of France. Don, Dun, ' Water,' l a River/ 
(Ossetians, a people of the Caucasus). 'The Don' River, in 
the country of the c Don Cossacks,' who are also considered 
to be a people of the Caucasus. 'Donau' (German), the 
Danube. 

From Ar, c a River, a Stream,' (Hebrew.) <Ar-a/ now 
c the Ayr/ that enters the sea at Bayeux, (see before, p. 73.) 
< The Ar-ar/ Gaul. < The Ayr,' Scotland. 

From Ee . a . ou . r, ' a River, a Stream,' (Hebrew,) a modi- 
fication of A . r. Wari, ' Water/ (Sanscrit.) ' The Evre' and 
'Evrette/ France. 'TheWavre/ Belgium. ' The Weaver* 
and ' the Wear/ England. 

From Ee. a.r (Hebrew), and Iaro, <a River/ (Egyptian,) 
'The Yarrow/ Scotland. (See p. 10.) 

From Ur, ' Water/ (Jeniseians, in Siberia,) and Our-on 
(Greek), terms connected with the previous Hebrew words; 
• Ur-us,' the Ouse, Britain. 

Thus it will be seen that the various inflections of the 
Hebrew word A.r. have been completely preserved in the 
names of the different rivers in each of the Celtic countries 
of Britain and Gaul. 

Lamu, < the Sea/ ( Tungusian.) Lam, c the Sea/ (Lamutian.) 
Limne, a Lake, u Poetically, the Sea, the Ocean, which seems 
" to be the most primitive sense ; also anciently, as it would 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 85 

" appear, the Estuary of a River/' Schneider {Greek). At 

the mouths of the rivers that flow into the Black Sea lakes 

are formed, which are called i Limans.'* Hence 'Leman-us 

Lacus' in Switzerland. 

Lim-en, a Haven, {Greek,) connected apparently with the 

last word; Limne {Greek), * Lemanae' vel Portus e Leman-is/ 

Lyme, in Kent, where Caesar first landed. 

Jura, a long Mountainous ridge in ancient Gaul. Jura, 

a long Mountainous Island (Scotland). ' Jur-jura/ an im- 
portant chain of Mountains in the North of Africa. Gora 

{Russian), Ghiri {Sanscrit), a Mountain. 

In the foregoing examples Celtic words having an affinity 
to the Latin frequently occur, employed in a manner that 
shows they could not have been borrowed by the Celts from 
the Romans. Thus we have the names Ar-wor-ici, Ebro- 
lacum, names in which terms like the Latin 'Mare' and 
6 Lacus' are naturally blended with other Celtic words which 
are quite unlike the Latin ! 

I conceive the evidence adduced in the previous pages 
must serve to place beyond all doubt the truth of the propo- 
sitions illustrated in this Section, viz., that the language of 
the primitive Celts of Europe and the British Isles originally 
consisted of a combination of the Welsh and Irish, and other 
living Celtic dialects, united with many words and forms pre- 
served in none of those dialects, but traceable in the Hebrew, 
the Greek, and the languages of other ancient and distant 
nations. 

The uniformity that presents itself in the ancient local 
nomenclature of all the Celtic countries is a very remarkable 
and instructive feature, of which an adequate conception can 
be formed only by an examination of the Roman Maps. The 
identity of names, for example, is found to be as complete 

* Kohl's Russia. 



86 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL. 

when the Roman Maps of Gaul and Britain are compared, 
as we meet with in examining the Maps of two English 
Counties ! To this rule Ireland, as far as we can judge from 
the imperfect nature of the information transmitted to us, 
formed no exception. These facts lead to the inference that 
the Celts must have diffused themselves, within a compara- 
tively short interval of time, over all the regions of Europe of 
which the Romans found them in possession ! Had the pro- 
cess of diffusion occupied a great many ages, there must have 
been a commensurate change in the Celtic language, which 
would have displayed itself in the local names of the more 
distant regions. But no such difference occurs, the local 
nomenclature of Britain, for instance, being identical with 
that of Switzerland and Spain ! 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 87 



Section VI. 

Summary of the Results deducible from the previous Sec- 
tions. The Changes tvhich have occurred in the English, 
Scandinavian, and Celtic Languages, sufficient to account 
for the Differences among all Human Tongues. Causes 
which give rise to the Abandonment and specific Appropria- 
tion of Synonymes. Total Differences of Grammatical 
Forms no Proof of afundametital Difference of Language. 
The Relation which the Languages of one Continent, viewed 
in the aggregate, bear to the individual Languages of such 
Continent, the same as that which the ancient Scandinavian 
bears to its derivative Dialects, Sfc. Incipient Changes in 
the Language of Australia. 

The facts developed in the previous Sections obviously 
present a satisfactory solution of the problem suggested at 
page 25, viz., whence it has come to pass that languages 
almost totally different in their present composition could 
have sprung from one original Tongue ? That existing lan- 
guages have sprung from one source is a proposition of which 
the proofs have been explained in the same Chapter in which 
this problem has been suggested. (See Chap. I.) 

In the preceding Sections it has been shown, agreeably to 
the statement contained in Section I., that Languages are 
exposed to two prominent causes of change ; viz., the aban- 
donment by different branches of the same race — 1, of dif- 
ferent Synonymes ; 2, of different meanings of the same 
Synonyme. 

From the facts Historically proved in the previous Sections 
it will be found to be an indisputable truth, that — assuming 
their operation to be continued for an adequate period of time, 



88 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

— these two causes are calculated to produce, from one parent 
Tongue, languages-of which the differences are apparently 
fundamental. For example, if the differences between the 
Gothic and Celtic languages noticed at page 28, — languages 
which differ almost totally, — are compared with those which 
have been proved to have arisen in the last nine hundred 
years among the various branches of the Scandinavian and 
the Celtic, it will be seen at once that the latter are of pre- 
cisely the same nature as the former. The only distinction 
is that they are fewer in point of number ! But on the other 
hand, it is certain that the same causes of change — acting 
at the same rate during a previous period of treble that length 
of time — might have produced between two branches of a 
common original speech differences equally numerous with 
those which the Gothic and Celtic exhibit ; in other words, 
differences sufficiently extensive almost entirely to exclude all 
vestiges of original unity ! 

But it must be added, that it would be highly erroneous 
to infer that the rate of change previous to the commence- 
ment of the Historical period was the same as it has been 
since ; it must have been much more rapid ! Changes of this 
nature are prompted by the dictates of convenience, which 
suggest the extinction of superfluous words, and the appro- 
priation of the remainder to distinct though kindred pur- 
poses: names for e Water, Rivers, the Sea/ for example, 
were doubtless in the first instance applied indifferently to all 
these objects. Now, inasmuch as languages are more redun- 
dant in their earlier than they are in their later stages, it is 
apparent that these changes, of which this redundant cha- 
racter is the source, must be more rapid. 

This explanation would fully account for the diversity of 
structure evinced by the Gothic and Celtic Tongues, which 
probably differ as widely as any languages of the globe, 
without referring the commencement of their separation to a 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 89 

more remote date than would be quite consistent with received 
systems of Chronology. That the Celtic and Gothic were 
originally one speech, and that the differences which they now 
display have arisen in this manner, will be evident from 
Section II. (page 26,) combined with the facts developed in 
the other Sections of this Chapter. 

Difference of Grammatical forms has been supposed to 
afford proof of a fundamental difference of language. A 
comparison of those of the languages previously noticed will 
show this to be a highly erroneous conclusion ! The Welsh 
and Irish differ most widely in their grammars, though the 
general resemblance of these languages proves their original 
identity. The German and English also differ very widely, 
the majority of the Pronouns being unlike. Again, even the 
modern and the provincial English have different Auxiliary 
Verbs, &c. ike. These are results of the same principle, viz., 
the tendency to abandon, or appropriate differently, the 
various elements of a common parent speech. 

Moreover since Pronouns, which are the principal basis of 
Grammar, are merely different Synonvmes for " Man, or a 
u Human Being" (see page 13), appropriated to different 
Persons, the supposition that kindred nations may be ex- 
pected in all cases to use the same grammatical forms is 
founded on the gratuitous and highly unreasonable assump- 
tion, that the process of appropriating these various Nouns 
to different Persons must have been complete at a very early 
period, before the separation of the Human Race into distinct 
Tribes ! 

But though the rejection of superfluous Synonymes, and 
the specific appropriation of the remainder are results of the 
dictates of convenience, the selection of the particular syno- 
nvmes which are retained, and the particular mode of appli- 
cation, are results dependent on individual caprice and 
idiosyncracv. Hence we find, as has been shown in previous 



90 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

Sections, the various branches of the same race adopt and 
abandon different terms. This feature, -which has been 
traced in the Historical progress of languages, completely 
explains the phenomenon especially noticed at the close of 
the First Chapter, viz., the positive identity which we find 
on the one hand, when the languages of the different Conti- 
nents are compared in the aggregate, combined on the other 
with a difference nearly total among individual languages, 
occurring, in many cases, among the languages of contiguous 
nations of the same Continent. In each separate tribe there 
is a tendency to abandon part of the parent speech, but as 
different tribes generally abandon different parts, probably 
no portion of the original tongue is lost ! Its component 
parts are dispersed, and not destroyed ! There is a complete 
and perfect analogy between the relation which will be found 
to prevail between the languages of each continent viewed in 
the aggregate as one original Tongue — compared with the 
individual existing languages of the same continent — and the 
relation shown in the previous Sections to prevail between 
the ancient ( Danska Tunge' and its derivative Scandinavian 
Tongues — between the Anglo-Saxon and the modern English 
Dialects — between the ancient Celtic and the modern Welsh 
and Irish ! 

A recent work on Australia, by Colonel Grey, furnishes 
an account of the language of that country, so strikingly cor- 
roborative of the views developed above with respect to the 
origin of the various languages of the other four great 
Divisions of the Globe, that I have been induced especially 
to advert to Colonel Grey's statement in this Section. 

" The arguments which prove that all the Australian 
" dialects have a common root, are : 

" 1st, A general similarity of sound, and structure of 
" words, in the different portions of Australia, as tar as yet 
" ascertained. 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 91 

u 2d. The recurrence of the same word with the same 
" signification ; to be traced, in many instances, round the 
" entire continent, but undergoing, of course, in so vast an 
" extent of country, various modifications. 

" 3d. The same names of natives occurring frequently at 
" totally opposite portions of the continent. Now, in all 
u parts of it which are known to Europeans, it is ascertained 
" that the natives name their children from any remarkable 
" circumstance which may occur soon after their birth ; such 
u being tli m accordance of the names of natives is a 

'* proof of 8 similarity of dialect. 

" The chief cause of the misapprehension which has so 
u long existed with regard to the point under consideration 
u i> that the language of the aborigine* of Australia abound* 

u in st/noni/nns, many of which arc, for a time, altogether 
u local; BO that, for instance, the inhabitants of a particular 
"district will use one word for unto* while those of a 
u neighbouring district will (ijndy another, which appears to 
*• he a totally different one. But when I found out that in 

u Mich instance! a- these both tribes understood the words 
a which either made use <>/, and merely employed another 
u one from temporary Jathiou and capric€ 3 I felt convinced 
M that the language generally spoken to Europeans by the 
k ' natives of any one tmall district could not be considered as 
u a fan- specimen of the general language of that part of 
M Australia, and therefore in the vocabulary which I compiled 
u in Western Australia. 1 introduced words collected from 
" a eery ei tensive trad of eountry. 

M Again, in jretting the names of the parts of the body, &c. 
" from the natives, many causes of error arise, for they have 



* Here i- bh explanation, in the instance ol the very .same woid, ol Lbuyd'a 
ifficult) noticed lo the but Section. 



92 DIFFERENCES OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

" names for almost every minute portion of the human frame : 
" thus, in asking the name for the arm, one stranger would 
" get the name for the upper arm, another for the lower arm, 
" another for the right arm, another for the left arm, &c. ; 
" and it therefore seems most probable that in the earlier 
" stages of the inquiry into the nature of the language of this 
" people, these circumstances contributed mainly to the er- 
" roneous conclusion, that languages radically different were 
" spoken in remote parts of the continent. 

" One singularity in the dialects spoken by the aborigines 
" in different portions of Australia is, that those of districts 
" widely removed from one another sometimes assimilate very 
" closely, whilst the dialects spoken in the intermediate ones 
" differ considerably from either of them. The same circum- 
" stances take place with regard to their rites and customs ; 
" but as this appears rather to belong to the question of the 
" means by which this race was distributed over so extensive 
" a tract of country, I will not now enter into it, but merely 
" adduce sufficient evidence to prove that a language radically 
" the same is spoken over the whole continent. 

" If, then, we start from Perth, in Western Australia, fol- 
" lowing the coast in a southerly direction, it will be found 
" that between Perth and King George's Sound a common 
" language is spoken, made up of several dialects, scarcely 
" differing from one another in any material points, and 
" gradually merging into the dialects of these two places, as 
" the two points considered are nearer to one or the other. 
* * * * * 

" The word for the Sun at Perth is X^an^a, whilst at 
" Adelaide it is Tin-dee ; but the word used by the natives 
" at Encounter Bay, South Australia, thirty-six miles from 
" Adelaide, is Ngon-ge, and the word used in the southern 
" districts of Western Australia for the Stars is Tiendce ; 



LANGUAGES OF THE FOUR CONTINENTS. 93 

" thus, by extending the vocabularies of the two places, the 
a identity of the language is shown/' * 

* ^c % ^c * 

The reader who by a perusal of the previous Sections has 
learned how rapid are the changes which languages undergo, 
will not merely conclude, with Colonel Grey, that the popu- 
lation of Australia must be descendants of one Sept, but he 
will conclude also that the first colonization of that continent 
must be referred to a comparatively recent date. Australia 
is nearly as large as the Continent of Europe, and yet we 
find one language prevail over the whole of its extensive 
surface ! It may be inferred with certainty, from the changes 
which one thousand jean have produced in the European 
languages, that this fact makes it probable that the date of 
the origin of the Australian tribes must have been compara- 
tively recent, — makes it impossible that it can have been 
remote ! 

In relation more immediately to the conclusions developed 
in this Section, it remains to be noticed that the trifling in- 
cipient differences of dialect in the language of Australia, as 
described by Colonel Grey, afford a vivid picture of the first 
phases of that process which, during the course of a series of 
given rise to the different languages of the four 
great Continents of Asia, Europe, Africa, and America! 

But how are we to account for the origin of these nu- 
merous synonymous terms which abound in all, especially 
in ancient, languages? 

This subject will be discussed in the next Chapter. 



• In Appendix A the original identity and subsequent specific appropriation of 
the names of the Heavenly Luminaries ;ire especially noticed. See Appendix A, 
p. 48. These wurds occur in the same Appendix; as to 'Tin-dee,' see p. 20, 
as to « Ngai mum page. 



CHAPTER III. 

ON THE ORIGIN OF SYNONYMES. 



Section I. 

First Source of Synonymes the Metaphorical Character of 
Human Language in its Infancy. Even modem Lan- 
guages metaphorical or descriptive, as regards the Values 
of Substances recently known to Man. Progressive Change 
from a metaphorical to a conventional Character displayed 
by more Modern compared to more Ancient Languages. 
Illustration from the Sanscrit Words for ' The Sun' 

But not only may the dispersion of Synonymes be referred 
to influences of which the active agency still continues ; it 
will appear that the first Origin of the numerous Synonymes 
which Human Language presents may also be explained by 
means of causes still in operation ! 

Human Language, in its infancy, was descriptive or meta- 
phorical. Nouns, or names of objects, were expressive of 
some of their dominant or most conspicuous qualities. Hence, 
inasmuch as in different individuals, and in the same indi- 
vidual at different times, the faculty of Imagination is affected 
by various characteristics, a great diversity of descriptive 
terms were generally devised for the same objects, and these, 
as their primitive metaphorical meanings were insensibly 
forgotten, gradually lapsed into arbitrary or conventional 
Nouns. That this is a correct explanation of the origin of a 



ORIGIN OF SYNONYMES. 95 

large portion of the Synonymes in which Human Tongues 
abound, will be apparent from an examination of two vene- 
rable Oriental Languages, the Hebrew and the Sanscrit, 
which indisputably display through their whole structure a 
metaphorical or pictorial character. 

The same truth is confirmed by facts within the range of 
our actual experience — facts that suggest reflections of high 
interest ! 

Several thousand years have passed away since man first 
became acquainted with the most prominent and familiar of 
those objects with which he is surrounded. For these ob- 
jects he has inherited from his remote ancestors names which 
he learns in infancy, and which relieve him from the task of 
inventing anew appropriate designations. But though Nature 
presents no new features, the progress of Science has in 
modern times revealed a few new substances unknown to our 
forefathers, which have served at intervals to call forth the 
exercise of the same inventive powers by which language was 
originally constructed ! Now if we examine the names that 
were originally conferred on the various chemical substances 
which have been brought to light in our own and in the last 
generation, we shall arrive at the instructive result that these 
Dames almost wholly consist of descriptive terms, represent- 
ing either some of their most obvious properties, or the 
various conclusions formed by different philosophers on the 
subject of their nature and composition.* Further, we shall 

• Fur example: ' Carbonic Acid Gas,' called also ' Choke Damp' (by miners,) 
and ' Fixed Air.' 

1 Carburetted Hydrogen,' called also ' Fire Damp' (by miners), ' Inflammable 
Air,' 'Coal Gas,' and 'Gas.' 

'Iodine,' from lodes, 'Like a Violet,' {Greek,) a name suggested by its 
beautiful violet tint. 

' Nitrous Oxide,' or ' Protoxide of Azote' (terms expressive of its component 
elements), a gtt discovered by Dr. Priestley, called also ' Laughing Gas' (from 
its peculiar property discovered by Sir Humphrey Davy). 

' Gas' is from a German word meaning ' Breath. Air, Spirit,' ice. <fcc. 



96 ORIGIN OF SYNONYMES. 

find that many of these new substances gave rise, in the first 
instance, to numerous descriptive terms ! That these terms 
were for some time used concurrently ! That subsequently a 
portion of them fell into disuse ! That finally the remainder 
gradually lost the descriptive significations at first attached 
to them, and acquired the character of mere arbitrary or con- 
ventional names ! 

Hence it is evident, and most assuredly it is a result of the 
highest interest, that the native and permanent tendencies of 
the Human mind itself distinctly point to the conclusion that 
language must originally have been descriptive or metapho- 
rical ! Hence, also, we derive a vivid illustration of the same- 
ness of those tendencies, as exhibited both in the latest and 
in the earliest ages of the world, in the trains of thought ex- 
cited by new objects in the minds of the Philosophers of 
modern days, and in those of the simple forefathers of the 
Human Race, whose 

" Souls proud Science never taught to stray 
Far as the solar walk or milky way !" 

As we ascend from Modern into remote ages, Human 
Language gradually reassumes its Metaphorical character. 
Moreover, it will appear that the transition may be traced oc- 
curring in different classes of words at different epochs : 
terms for newly-discovered substances or new inventions 
being descriptive in all languages; terms for the most common 
and conspicuous objects of nature, on the other hand, not 
exhibiting this quality, except in the most ancient Tongues ; 
while in specimens of Language belonging to intermediate 
eras, an intermediate character is observable ; terms for less 
common and less conspicuous natural objects being more 
generally descriptive than they are in modern Tongues, &c. 

The nature and steps of this transition will be more dis- 
tinctly perceived if viewed retrospectively : 



ORIGIN OF SYXOXYMES. 97 

1. Modern Languages. 

In such languages as the modern English, French, and 
German, probably the great majority of terms are conven- 
tional, though we meet with numerous names of animals, 
birds, &c. which are descriptive, as * Black-bird.' In words 
applied to new inventions or discoveries, a descriptive cha- 
racter is commonly displayed, as in c Rail-road* (Eng.), 
'Eisen-bahn' (Ger.), c Chem in defer* (French), i.e. 'Iron-way.' 

2. Ancient Specimens of the European Languages. 

In the oldest written specimens of the Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, 
&c, the vestiges of a descriptive origin rapidly increase. The 
names of Animals and Birds are found to be nearly all either 
descriptive or imitative, and Synonymes are much more nu- 
merous in certain classes of words. 

The names for ' The Sun, The Hand,' &c, and other objects 
enumerated at page 8, as the first on which appellations must 
have been conferred by Man, seem to have become purely 
conventional previously to the date of the earliest Celtic or 
Saxon MSS. But, on the other hand, a comparison of Lan- 
guages serves to indicate that in this class of terms also these 
Tongues were Metaphorical in remote ages prior to the era 
of History. Thus 'Grian,' The Sun, (Irish,) means e A 
Burner' in Welsh. Again, the Celtic and Gothic races have 
been too long separated to use the same conventional terms. 
But they frequently agree in the basis of the descriptive terms, 
from which the conventional terms are derived. Thus 
Llygad, 'An Eye,' (Welsh,) is totally unlike the English 
'Eye,' ('Auge,' German;) but it is identical in its root with 
the English word Leo*. \ Trued; The Feet, (Celtic,) is un- 
like ' Foot,' but its root is identical with e Tread' (English) ! 
Celtic scholars have often derived the English ' Tread' from 
the Celtic or Welsh 'Traed;' but the Verb < Tread' (< Tret-en,' 
German) is used by all the Gothic nations from the Danube 
to Iceland ! 

7 



98 



ORIGIN OF SYXONYMES, 



The Greek and Latin also conspicuously exhibit a more 
Metaphorical character than the modern tongues of Europe. 

3. The Sanscrit and the Hebrew. 

It is agreed that in the entire structure of these languages 
a metaphorical character is displayed ; even such words as 
the names for e The Sun/ &c. are for the most part metapho- 
rical or descriptive. 



The truth and extensive application of the principle under 
discussion will be best understood by a perusal of Appendix 
A, which contains ample illustrations of the rule that while 
the conventional significations of words are preserved in one 
Language, the same words commonly occur in others in 
kindred metaphorical meanings. In this place, however, 
may be appropriately introduced one illustration derived from 
the various Sanscrit words for the Sun. These words, which 
are all considered to be descriptive or metaphorical, have ob- 
viously formed the source of the following Conventional Terms 
for that Luminary, which occur in Indo-Germanic languages 
of more modern form : 

Different Words for the Sun in Sanscrit , and their distribution 
in other Indo-Germanic Languages. 











German 




Sanscrit. 


Persian. 


Greek. 


Latin, 


and 
English. 


\Vr,.s H . 


Huilih ... 






Sol. 
(S. Hail-ib.j 




Hail. 


Hail-is ... 




He-elios. 








Sura ...... 










Ser-en, A 
Star. 


Sunu 








Sob, 




Mihira 


Mibira. 






Sonne. 




Af \ 

Teh J 


1 Af-tab. 











ORIGIN OF SYNONYMES. \)\) 



Section II. 



Second Source of Synonymes. Imitative Origin of the Elements 
of Human Language. Imitative Character of Ancient 
Languages. Imitative Origin of Language consistent ivith 
the Unity of the Human Race. Supported by Analogy. 
Adam Smiths Opinion that the first Elements of Language 
were Nouns, considered. Progress of Language in Infancy. 
Illustration, from Campbell's Hohenlinden,of the Influence 
of the fmitative Faculty on the Imagination. Progressive 
Growth of Language. Important Exception to the Priu- 
ciple of the Imitative Origin of Language. Origin of the 
Harsh and Open Sou/ids of Ancient Languages. 

In its infancy, Language was metaphorical, but it was 
directly Imitative of surrounding objects at its birth ! Hence, 
as will now be explained, another source of the synonymes 
in which Human Tongues abound! 

Did man derive his language from the direct instruction of 
his Creator, or from the natural exercise of those faculties 
with which he has been endowed'- For the former opinion 
no argument, either Scriptural or Philosophical, has ever 
been advanced. In favour of the latter, proofs deducible 
from Language, Analogy, and the actual features of the 
Human Mind, conspire. 

In the Hebrew, and other ancient languages, Man's first 
imitative efforts are distinctly traceable,* and as we ascend 
from modern to earlier eras in the history of Human Tongues, 
and extend our comparison by including within its range a 
greater number of kindred dialects, we shall find — not only 
the features of a descriptive or metaphorical character, as 

See Remarks in Adelung*! Mitbridates on the Hebrew. 



100 ORIGIN OF SVNONYMES. 

already noticed — but also the vestiges of an imitative origin 
progressively increase. Thus, for example, the English words 
for two common birds, the 6 OwP and the ' Crow/ have no 
other effect on the ear than that of mere arbitrary or conven- 
tional terms; they have been too much abbreviated any 
longer to suggest distinctly the source from which they have 
sprung. But in the Swedish f Ul-u-la/ and the Sanscrit 
c Ul-u-ka/ the reiterated screams of "the bird of night" 
are plainly mimicked, as is the harsh guttural croak of the 
crow in the German c Kr'ahe ! ' 

Those writers who have espoused, and those who have 
impugned, the conclusion that language is the natural fruit 
of the endowments which have been conferred on our species, 
have, for the most part, mutually assumed that conclusion to 
be irreconcilable with the common origin of the different 
nations and languages of the globe. Each ancient sept, 
they take for granted, must in that case be inferred to have 
had a distinct origin, and to have invented a distinct language 
for itself. But there is no necessary connexion between the 
premises and the conclusion. All nations may have emanated 
from one parent sept, and all languages may have sprung 
from one parent tongue, and yet the parent speech may, not- 
withstanding, have been the product of Man's own native 
energies in the earliest era of his existence ! Our species 
may have been invested with the faculty of constructing a 
language adequate to meet all its first wants, and yet that 
faculty may have been exercised only once ! 

The conclusion adopted above is supported by the dictates 
of Analogy, as traceable in the instance of provisions made 
for wants analogous to those which language is calculated to 
supply. Destined to pass successively through various 
phases of civilization, and to push his colonies into every 
clime and country, Man required and has received, both in 
his physical and mental constitution, powers of adaptation 



ORIGIN OF SYXOXYMES. 101 

that enable him to conform to those marvellous changes which 
are incident to his condition as a Progressive Being. His 
first infantine feelings are expressed by imitations of sur- 
rounding objects, and as his higher moral and intellectual 
faculties are developed, they find utterance in metaphors de- 
rived from the organs of sensation. In those advances which 
he was mysteriously intended to make from age to age, he 
would have been fettered and not aided by the gift of an 
immutable language ! His wants in this respect have been 
more wisely provided for by the power which has evidently 
been conferred upon him of framing in the first instance a 
language calculated to express his earliest wants as they suc- 
cessively arose, and of subsequently moulding it to suit 
the emergencies of his condition. 

It was the opinion of Adam Smith that the elements of 
language consist of Nouns or Names of things. From this 
opinion, M. Du Ponceau dissents. Nor is this conclusion 
confirmed by an analysis of languages, which serves to show, 
on the contrary, that these elements or roots partake less of 
the character of Nouns or Names of Objects than of that of 
Verbs or terms descriptive of their actions and qualities. This 
result appears to be a necessary consequence of the imitative 
origin of language, for it is only their characteristic sounds or 
other salient qualities that admit of imitation, it is impossible 
to copy by the voice the objects themselves ! The English 
word Cuc-koo furnishes an excellent example. This word is 
now used as a Noun or Name. But it is quite manifest that 
originally it was a mere imitation of the characteristic cry of 
the bird, in other words it was descriptive of a single quality 
or action ! 

But though they partake of the character of Verbs rather 
than of that of Nouns, it will, I conceive, appear that the 
roots or elements of language do not in reality belong to any 
existing class of grammatical terms. In the Hebrew and the 



102 



ORIGIN OF SYNOXYMES 



Sanscrit the < Root' is neither a Noun nor a Verb, but the 
common basis of both. Nor is the application of this maxim 
confined to ancient languages; it may be shown to apply 
extensively to modern languages also, as in the following 
examples, derived from the English : 



ROOT. 


NOUN. 


VERB. 


Burst. 


Burst. 


I burst 


Thrust. 


Thrust. 


I thrust. 


Crack. 


Crack. 
Crack-er. 


I crack. 


Wrench. 


Wrench. 




Hiss. 


Hiss. 


I hiss. 


Rumble. 


Rumbl-er. 


It rumbles. 


Break. 


Break. 
Break-er. 


I break, &c. 


Croak. 


Croak. 
Croak- er. 


I croak. 



The previous examples will serve to illustrate at once the 
proposition they are intended to support, and also the imita- 
tive character of the roots or elements of language. This 
character, it will be observed, does not occur exclusively in 
terms primarily descriptive of sounds, it is displayed in an 
equally unequivocal manner in terms descriptive of other 
physical qualities, as in ' Thrust, Burst, Wrest/ cxc. 

It is obvious that the human voice possesses the power of 
copying sounds more perfectly than other external impres- 
sions. But the attempt at imitation is not more conspicuous 
than it is in other cases, in which the imitation is necessarily 
more imperfect. Thus Koom, used in Persia and Wales for 
6 a hollow circular valley,' ( Coop' [English), are attempts by 
means of the motion of the lips, &c. to imitate the s/iaj 
the subjects of description. 

The evidence furnished by language in support of the i 



ORIGIN OF SYNONYM ES. 103 

position suggested above, viz., that its roots or elements do 
not consist either of Nouns or Verbs, but of sounds which 
constitute the common basis of both, will be found, I con- 
ceive, to derive direct confirmation from an examination of 
the faculties employed in the formation of language, and the 
order of their development. 

Man is endowed with two faculties of a very different 
nature, of which language seems to be the joint product, 
viz., with powers of imitation and powers of reflection. Now 
the elementary sounds, or roots of language, may be viewed 
as exclusively the work of the imitative propensity ; the 
steady .appropriation of these elements as recognized descrip- 
tions of actions and objects seems, on the other hand, to be 
the result of the progressive growth and of the reiterated 
subsequent exercise of the functions of Memory and Abstrac- 
tion. Thus we find infants mimic sounds long before we 
can suppose their minds to be sufficiently developed perma- 
nently to associate such sounds with particular objects; 
afterwards, as their faculties are gradually unfolded, th< 
imitations are appropriated as names. Accordingly we rind 
that almost all children are in the habit of using a certain 
number of Wordfl thus formed, which are understood and 
employed by the guardians and companions of their infancy 
An instructive example of the natural activity of those mental 
qualities to which language first owed its existence — an ac- 
tivity which is repressed by no other cause than by the 
maturity of languages in use, which fully meet all the exi- 
gencies of the social state ! 

The vehement gesticulations of uncivilized tribes is another 
manifestation of the imitative propensity. Nor arc the ves- 
tiges of its influence anions civilized nations altogether con- 



• Some exa Uent observations dm the subject ol words thus formed by children 
04 * in in ^ome Lite numbers of Chambers's .Journal. 



104 ORIGIN OF SYNONYMES. 

fined to the period of childhood. They may be recognized in 
the marked, though generally unconscious, disposition we 
feel to select words imitative of the ideas we seek to convey, 
and in the pleasure we derive from works of imagination, in 
which the sound is rendered a an echo of the sense/ 5 in con- 
formity to the critical rule of classical antiquity. Of the 
sublime associations called forth by a happy appeal to the 
imitative faculty, we possess a fine example in the lines of 
the great living Poet, which, with a fastidiousness as marvel- 
lous as the genius by which they were conceived, he proposed 
to cancel, as being " Drum and Trumpet lines ! n * 

" On Linden when the sun was low 
All bloodless lay the untrodden snow, 
And dark as winter was the flow 
Of Iser rolling rapidly. 

" But Linden saw another sight 

When the trump blew at dead of night, 
Commanding fires of death to light 
The darkness of her scenery ! 

" By torch and trumpet fast array'd 
Each warrior drew his battle blade, 
And furious every courser neigh'd 

To join the dreadful revelry ! " 

(Campbell's ' Hohenlinden.') 

The progressive appropriation of elementary sounds or 
Roots to the various purposes of language, and the conse- 
quent development of grammatical forms, remain to be ex- 
plained. 

In the first instance these Roots were, it would seem, em- 
ployed alike both as Verbs and Nouns, &c. ; the requisite 
distinction, it may be inferred, was made by Signs. In the 
course of time the Noun was distinguished by characteristic 
additions identical, as may be proved, with terms for < Man/ 

This did not apply to the first four lines quoted above. 



ORIGIN OF SYNONYMES. 105 

This tendency to personify appears, as Du Ponceau observes, 
to be "according to nature!" The English word Smith, 
and the German Schmidt, are nouns of the primitive kind, 
being mere transcripts of the Root. On the other hand, in 
the English ' Join-er, Break-er/ we have examples of Nouns 
distinguished as such by a grammatical suffix, e Er,' which, 
in German, means ' He,' and in Turkish means e A Man.' 
In the Pehlwi, an ancient dialect of Persia, which is intimately 
connected with the English, and other Gothic languages, we 
actually find the English word c Man/ used for the same 
purpose as 'Er/ in the above example. Thus we have 
Ruis-man, C A Head/ (Pehlwi,) Ras (Arabic), and Rosh, 
6 A Head/ (Hebrew,) Lager-man, 'The Foot/ (Pehlwi,) 
Lagyl (Wogut), Leg (English). 

The Verb, and its different persons, were distinguished by 
pronouns, annexed in various modes.* 

Finally, it may be noticed, that since all other branches of 
Human Language have been shown to be derivable from 
terms originally applied to Material actions and objects, (see 
pages 11, 12, 13;) and since these have been proved to be 
products of the imitative faculty, it follows that all the 
elements of language are ultimately traceable to the same 
source. There is, however, an important exception. 

There is a class of terms, including many of those expres- 
sive of domestic relations, which cannot be traced to imita- 
tion, but seem to consist of those sounds which are most 
easy to pronounce. They may, in fact, be viewed as the 
fruits of the first essays of the organs of articulation. t 



* This is perfectly obvious in the Hebrew, and may be shown by Analysis in 
other Languages. 

f See Dr. Darwin's Zoonomia. 



106 ORIGIN OF SYNONYMES, 



HEBREW 



A . m. A Mother. Also, Amee A Father. (Mangree, 

the lower arm (with the a Negro Dialect.) 

hand) by which a child is Mamma, Mother, a Teat, a 

supported. Breast, (Latin.) 

A . m . e. A Maid Servant. Mamma.* A Father, (Geor- 

A . m . n. A Nurse, To gian.) 

support, nurse. A . m . e. A Nurse, (German.) 

A . m . ou . n. A Child, Mam. A Mother, ( Welsh.) 

&c. &c. Mamma (English). 

It will be perceived that the application of terms from this 
c Root' was not confined to parents, but was extended to 
other objects familiar in childhood. 

Other examples of the principle just noticed occur in 
Abba, f Father,' (Hebreiv,) Ab-avus, Av-us, and Papa (Latin). 
These words are clearly traceable to sounds which may be 
readily pronounced in infancy. 

The Hebrew, and some other ancient Oriental tongues, are 
distinguished by the frequent occurrence of harsh aspirate* 
and gutturals, and of vehement and discordant tones, which, 
in many instances, are utterly incapable of representation by 
means of any sounds in use among the nations of modern 
Europe. Now if language had an imitative origin, and if 
these ancient Oriental tongues can be viewed as specimens 
of language near its source, and the European tongues as 
specimens more altered by time, these features of contrast 
will be satisfactorily explained. This will be evident from 
the following considerations. 

As Language in its incipient state must have been an im- 
perfect medium of communication, it may be concluded that 

* The occurrence in the Georgian, as a word for a « Father,' of this term, 
which is generally used lor a < Mother,' is specially noticed by Adelung. Com- 
pare the other example from the dialect of the Mangrees. 



ORIGIN OF SYNONYMES. 107 

the auxiliary aid of Signs was commonly resorted to ; violent 
motions of the hands and the feet were probably combined 
with intonations of the voice, expressive, even to exaggera- 
tion, of the ideas intended to be conveyed. Now the influence 
of this cause was obviously calculated to give to language in 
its infancy the very qualities which are ascribed to the 
Hebrew and some other ancient languages, viz., fulness, dis- 
tinctness, and in some respects extreme harshness. 

On the other hand, the natural progress of language will 
account also for the opposite qualities displayed by the dialects 
of modern Europe. As Society advanced, the severe features 
that belonged to Language at its first commencement must 
have gradually softened down. Words originally intelligible 
only as imitations of the qualities of objects, or by reason of 
the signs with which they were accompanied, must have 
gradually acquired conventional meanings, calculated to ren- 
der the use of signs and of rough and painful articulations 
unnecessary. Compare, as examples, the words already 
noticed, viz , the English word ' Crow/ and the German 
guttural word ' Kr'a-he/ the English ' Owl,' and the Swedish 
and Sanscrit ( Ulula/ and e Ulu-ka/ 

Many writers on subjects of this nature appear to fall into 
considerable confusion of thought in the eulogies which they 
are prone to bestow on those particular languages to which 
their studies have been chiefly directed. In some instances 
we find a lans-uaire extolled for the fulness and clearness of 
its sounds, while another is eulogized for its softness. These 
different qualities cannot with consistency be regarded as 
merits in languages that belong to the same stage of society. 
A more judicious view of the subject would involve the con- 
clusion to which the previous considerations must give rise, 
viz., that a full and distinct language is the result of neces- 
sity in the infancy of society, and that a soft and abbreviated 



108 ORIGIN OF SYNONYMES. 

language is the joint product of the dictates of convenience 
and taste that influence its later stages. 

It is probable that in the features under discussion the 
ancient Oriental Tongues do not differ from the languages of 
Europe more widely than the earliest differ from the latest 
specimens of the latter class of languages. The difference 
in this respect between the Anglo-Saxon and the modern 
English has already been noticed. The abbreviated pronun- 
ciation of the French, compared to the parent Latin, is 
another instance of the same kind. The following is an ex- 
ample of similar variations in three Celtic dialects, showing 
a progressively contracted pronunciation : 





WELSH. 


IRISH. 


MANX. 


Arm. 


Braich. 


Brak (obsolete). 








Raigh. 


-Ri. 


Gold. 


Ayr. 


Or. 


-Eer. 


A Year. 


Bluyddyn. 


Bleadhain. 


Blien. 



The Isle of Man was not occupied by the Irish until the 
fourth century. Yet the Manx differs from the Irish perhaps 
even more widely than the Irish differs from the Welsh. 

The desire to render language a more rapid and convenient 
medium of thought may be regarded as the principal source 
of changes of this nature. 



ORIGIN OF SYNONYM ES. 109 



Section III. 

Application of these Conclusions to the Question of the Unity 
of the Human Race, 

It may be objected that if language were in its origin 
imitative, the identity of the various languages of the globe 
shown in this work may be accounted for on that principle, 
without ascribing that important fact to an original unity of 
race. But an answer to this objection is involved in the 
following passage from the Mithridates of Adelung and 
Vater : 

" In those instances in which the sound imitated is very 
" definite and invariable, the imitation is so likewise (as in 
" that of the name of the Cuckoo, which is nearly the same 
" in all languages). But this is seldom the case. Generally 
u the natural sound is very variable ; hence one people imitates 
" one, and another a different change. A very striking ex- 
" ample occurs in the names for Thunder. Distinct as this 
" natural sound is, the impressions which it makes on the ear 
u are very variable, and it has accordingly given rise to a great 
u number of different names, which all betray, nevertheless, 
" their origin in Nature. In my Ancient History of the 
u German Language I have adduced, in proof of this propo- 
* sition, 353 of these names from the European languages." 

It appears, then, that the principle that language was 
imitative in its origin does not involve the inference that there 
is for that reason a tendency in human language to Unity. 
On the contrary, this principle leads, as has been shown, to 
the very opposite conclusion. Hence features of affinity dis- 
played by different Tongues must be referred to original 
unity of race. 



110 ORIGIN OF SYNONYM BI- 

SECTION IV. 

Recent Origin of the Human Race. 

The Hebrew and Sanscrit, as pointed out in the previous 
Sections, display certain features which cannot have long 
survived the infancy of language. The caprices of custom, 
the progress of the human mind, and the dictates of conve- 
nience, are calculated to efface these features within a limited 
period of time. Hence it follows, that the existence of lan- 
guage, and of the Species by which it is employed, could not 
have commenced at an era very remotely anterior to the date 
of the earliest specimens of these ancient Tongues; for it 
must be borne in mind that the identity of the Hebrew and 
the Sanscrit with other Human Tongues having been proved 
(see Appendix A), the vestiges of recent formation which 
these two languages display furnish evidence of the recent 
origin, not only of the ancient nations by whom they were 
spoken, but also of the Human Race. As previously noticed, 
no difficulty is felt in accounting for the descriptive character 
of the scientific names which occur at page 95, on the ground 
that the substances named have only lately become known 
to man. The existence in the Sanscrit of numerous descrip- 
tive Synonymes for the ' Sun 5 (see page 98), the most con- 
spicuous object in nature, is an example which, as already 
intimated, must suggest analogous reflections. 

Viewed with reference to the lapse of a few centuries, the 
changes language undergoes are too irregular to furnish a 
safe test of the date of historical events. But adverting to 
the progress of the European languages within the last 
thousand years, we may infer, nevertheless, that the effect 
of a long interval in producing extensive changes is certain. 



ORIGIN OF SYNONYMES. Ill 

Judging from these data, I conceive it may reasonably be 
concluded that the ancient Hebrew and Sanscrit remains 
could not have preserved the descriptive or metaphorical 
character to the same extent as they have done had the 
Human species been introduced at a period anterior to the 
date assigned to that event by our received systems of 
chronology. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ON THE ORIGINAL IDENTITY OF THE ENGLISH, WELSH, 
HINDOOS, AND OTHER NATIONS CLASSED AS INDO- 
EUROPEAN WITH THE JEWS, ARABIANS, ETC. 



Section I. 



Sir William Jones's Opinion that the Languages and Religions 
of these two Classes of Nations are quite distinct. The 
Names of the Gods of Greece, Italy, and India significant 
in the Hebrew, Arts brought by the Ancestors of the 
European Nations from the East, Names of Fermented 
Liquors, Arts of the Pastoral State. Words for Butter, 
fyc. Close Connexion of the Hebrew with the English. 
No specific difference between the Seme tic and Indo-Euro- 
pean Tongues. 

Among Orientalists, both in Germany and in this country, 
an opinion prevails that there is a specific connexion among 
certain Asiatic and European Nations, which they have 
accordingly classed together as members of what they term 
the Indo-European race. The principal Nations included 
in this class are the Hindoos, Persians, Greeks, Romans, 
Russians, and other Sclavonic Nations; the English, Ger- 
mans, and other Gothic Nations ; the Irish and Welsh, and 
other Celtic Nations, have more recently been ranged under 
the same appellation, in consequence of the researches of 
Dr. Prichard, M. Pictet, and Dr. Karl Meyer. The advo- 



IDENTITY OF THE ENGLISH, WELSH, ETC. 113 

cates of a distinct Indo-European race assume either that 
there is no connexion, or a comparatively slight one, between 
the various languages of that race and those of the ancient 
inhabitants of Judea, Arabia, and other contiguous nations. 
This theory may be viewed as a modification of a conclusion 
expressed by Sir William Jones in his Discourse on the 
Origin and Families of Nations. 

"That the first race of Persians and Indians, to whom we 
" may add the Romans and Greeks, the Goths, and the old 
"Egyptians or Ethiops, originally spoke the same language 
"and professed the same popular faith, is capable, in my 
"humble opinion, of incontestible proof; that the Jews and 
" Arabs, the Assyrians or second Persian race, the people 
"who spoke Syriack, and a numerous tribe of Abyssinians, 
" used one primitive dialect wholly distinct from the idiom 
"just mentioned, is, I believe, undisputed, and, I am sure, 
" indisputable."* 

While one class of writers have adopted the views of Sir 
William Jones, another class have maintained a very opposite 
opinion, viz. that the Hebrew is connected, not merely as a 
sister but as a parent, with all the other languages of the 
globe. The unreasonableness of this opinion, which is totally 
unsupported by authority, sacred or profane, has been forcibly 
pointed out by Adelung, who observes, ° Of all the Semetic 
" languages the Hebrew is the youngest ; the Hebrew nation 
" still slumbered in the loins of their patriarch Abraham at a 
" time when the whole south-west of Asia, even including 
"the eastern banks of the Tigris, was already filled with 
" Semetic t nations and tongues." 



• Sir William Jones's Works, vol. iii. p. 185. 

t The term Semetic, i. e. descendants of Shero, for which Dr. Prichard has 
proposed to substitute Syro-Phoenician, is applied to the ancient nations of Judea, 
Syria, and Arabia. The common origin and specific connexion of most of these 
nations which may be inferred from the Scriptural account, are distinctly apparent 

8 



114 ORIGINAL IDENTITY OF THE ENGLISH, 

The proofs of affinity between the Hebrew and other 
tongues which have been adduced by the writers last referred 
to, are in many instances perfectly sound and legitimate. 
But owing to the untenable nature of the proposition with 
which they are associated, they have had no influence in op- 
position to the opinions of those celebrated men who have 
denied the existence of any such affinity between the Hebrew 
and the Indo-European tongues. 

Truth in this, as in many other inquiries, has been lost in 
the collision of opposite errors ! The Hebrew, it is true, is 
not the Parent Tongue, but on the other hand, notwith- 
standing the weight that must necessarily be attached to the 
memorable passage quoted above, and also to the views of 
recent Orientalists, it can be shown, by evidence too clear 
and simple to be neutralized by any authority however emi- 
nent, that the languages termed Indo-European are as closely 
connected with the Hebrew as they are among themselves. 
To these languages, the relation which it bears is that of an 
ancient collateral, exhibiting many of the features of a parent 
in consequence of the antiquity of its earliest remains, which 
contain specimens of Language near to its source. This rela- 
tion, except as regards the Sanscrit, is strikingly analogous 
to that which specimens of the Scandinavian dialects near to 
their common source have been shown to bear to the modern 
languages of Denmark, Sweden, and Iceland. (See Propo- 
sition 6, p. 46.) 

As the proofs contained in Appendix A and in other parts 
of this work, are sufficient to establish that such is the nature 
of the connexion between the Hebrew and the Indo-Euro- 
pean languages, I shall here confine myself to such illustra- 
tions as possess an independent interest by reason of the 

from the close affinity of their languages. These Tongues by the highest autho- 
rities have been pronounced to be as nearly related as the Doric and Ionic dialects 
of the Greek. 



WELSH, HINDOOS, JEWS, ARABIANS, ETC. 115 

light they throw on the institutions and condition of ancient 
nations. 

The identity of the Gods of three of the principal Indo- 
European nations has been shown by Sir William Jones in 
his luminous and graceful Dissertation on the Gods of Greece, 
Italy, and India. But in the passage above quoted from the 
same great writer, the conclusion is conveyed that these Indo- 
European nations, agreeing among themselves, fundamentally 
differed with the Jews and other Syro- Phoenician nations in 
two important points, viz. Religion and Language. 

This conclusion will be found to involve many fallacies of 
a very obvious nature. The Assyrians and other Syro- 
Phoenician nations were idolaters, though the Jews were not ; 
and even the Jews were constantly lapsing into the idolatrous 
practices of the surrounding nations. We have no reason 
for inferring with certainty that the superstitions of the land 
of Canaan and of other Semetic countries were different from 
those of the Greeks, Italians, and Indians; the evidence 
rather favours the contrary supposition. Again, the ancient 
Egyptians, whom Sir William Jones classes with the Indo- 
European nations, from Language and Geographical position 
may reasonably be pronounced to have been more nearly re- 
lated to the Semetic nations of Palestine and Arabia. Such 
are the errors even of an " all-accomplished" inquirer in ex- 
ploring a new field ! 

That the Jews differed in religion from the nations of 
Greece, Italy, and India is a proposition which, in a general 
sense, cannot be disputed. But it will now be shown that 
this proposition must, nevertheless, be received with two 
qualifications, which entirely destroy its application as a 
proof of an aboriginal or remote difference of race, viz. 1. 
The same conceptions of the Supreme Being as are unfolded 
in the Hebrew Scriptures may be traced in the attributes of 
the principal Heathen Deities. 2. The names of the inferior 



116 ORIGINAL IDENTITY OF THE ENGLISH, 

Gods are perfectly preserved in the Hebrew language in ap- 
propriate senses, which distinctly indicate the recent origin 
of the superstitions of which they were the objects. While 
these inferior divinities appear to have been mere personifi- 
cations of the powers of nature or of the passions of Man, — 
in the conceptions of the Creator of all things equally just and 
sublime, — which rise above this mass of error in the character 
of the Greek Zeus, the Latin Jupiter, and the Indian Brahma,* 
the barrier which is supposed so abruptly to have separated 
the primitive faith of these nations from that of the patriarchs 
disappears ! 

The following analysis of the names of Heathen divinities 
may be regarded as a continuation of a similar analysis which 
occurs at page 20. As regards the names and attributes of 
the Indian Gods, I have availed myself of Sir W. Jones's 
Dissertation on the Gods of Greece. Italy, and India : 



THE GODS OF GREECE AND ITALY. 

Jupiter, Jov-(es), Jov-(em), 'The Supreme Being,' 
[Latin) ; Ee . e . v . e or J . ee . v . e, ' Jehovah, The Deity,' 
from E . v . e, ' To Be,' ( Hebrew.) This name is believed to 
be expressive of eternal existence.t 

Zeus or Zen {Greek), 'The Supreme Being,' the same as 
Jupiter; Zen, To Live, Ze, He Lives, Zoos, Living, {Greek.) 
Esse, < To Be,' {Latin.) Ee . sh . e, < To Be,' A . ee . sh, ' A 
Being,' Ee . sh . sh, ' Very old Ancient,' {Heb.) 

Juno [Latin), Ere [Greek), 'The Goddess of the Firma- 
ment and The Queen and Mother of the Gods.' [See p. 21.] 

* See a Treatise by Rammohun Roy, showing that the ancient faith of the 
Hindoos involved the unity of the Deity. 

t Ju-piter is a compound of Pater, a Father, with « Joy," which is the basis. 



WELSH, HINDOOS, JEWS, ARABIANS, ETC. 117 

Mercur-ius, ' The God of Commerce/ [Latin.) M . c . r, 
'Merchandise, To Sell/ (Heb.) Merx, Mercari {Latin). 
Market [English.) 

Min-erva, The Goddess of Wisdom, [Latin.) Men, ' The 
Mind.' 

Min-os, 'The Supreme Judge in the Infernal Regions/ 
[Latin fy Greek) M . n . e, 'To ordain, adjust, number/ 
(Heb.) 

Aurora [Latin), E-6-s [Greek), 'The^ Goddess of the 
Dawn.' [See p. 20.] 

Phaeton, ' Son of Apollo, or The Sun/ [Latin fy Greek.) 
Phaethon, Shining, [Greek.) Pha . o, To Shine, [Greek.) 
Ee . ph . o [Heb.) Phaethon in Greek was an epithet applied 
to 'The Sun,' a word for 'The Day' and for 'The Star 
Jupiter/ [Compare Phoibos, Fos, &c. p. 21.] 

Phos-phor-us [Latin), Phs phor-os, The Morning 
Star, [Greek,) from Phero, 'To Bear,' and Phos, Light. The 
origin of this name will be plain from the last example and 
from the analogous terms at p. 21. Phos, 'A Star,' [Japan,) 
Fosseye, ' The Sun,' [Sere res, Negroes,) &c. &c. 

Ares, 'The God of War/ [Greek.) War [English.) Or, 
' An Enemy ;' O . r . ee . ts, ' Formidable, Violent / O . r . ts, 
E . r . s, Ee . ou . r . ee . sh, ' To break in pieces, demolish, 
[Heb.) Eris, ' Strife/ (Greek.) 

M-ars, Mart-is, M-avors, 'The God of War/ [Latin.) 
M . Or . ts . c, ' Violence, Terror/ from O . r . ts with M. for- 
mative. [See ' Ares/ above.] 



118 ORIGINAL IDENTITY OF THE ENGLISH, 

Bell-on a, 'The Goddess of War. 5 Bellum, War, (Latin.) 
Beli, Bela, War, (Welsh.) Beli, Bela, Havoc, Devastation, 
( Welsh.) B . 1 . ee, B . 1 . o (Hebrew.) 

Vesta (Latin),* Hestia (Greek), 'The Goddess of Fire.' 
" Her power was exercised about Altars and Houses." 
Hestia also signifies a Hearth. Ee . ts . th, ' To Burn, Kindle, 
To be kindled as fuel/ (Hebrew.) 

Ceres, 'The Goddess of the Fruits of the Earth/ (Latin.) 
G . r . sh 3 ' Corn trodden out,' ' To spring forth/ Tender, 
Green, in full Verdure, Vegetables, (Hebrew.) Grass (German 
fy English.) 

Harp-y,e (Greek $ Latin), 'Winged Creatures, the fabu- 
lous personifications of Hunger and Rapacity!'' [See ^Eneid 3.] 
C'H.r.b, 'To Consume, waste/ 
C H . r . b . e, ' Desolation/ (Hebrew.) 
Harpazo, 'To Snatch/ (Greek.) 

Morpheus, 'The God of Sleep/ [Greek > Latin,) 

M.r.ph.e, 'Slothful/ (Heb.) 

An interesting consideration deserves especial notice in this 
place. On referring to the doubtful and unsatisfactory ex- 
planations which have been suggested for many of these 
names of the Gods of Greece and Italy, both by Cicero and 
by modern writers, who have relied solely on the intrinsic 
resources of the Classical languages, the superior clearness 
and simplicity of the explanations afforded by the aid of the 
Hebrew will be strikingly apparent. t 

* Vesta is also used for Fire itself. 
+ Cicero de Natura Deoram. 



WELSH, HINDOOS, JEWS, ARABIANS, ETC. 119 

THE GODS OF INDIA. 

Brahma, 'The Creator/ {Indian.) B . r . a, 'To Create/ 
applied to the creative act of the Deity in the First Chapter 
of Genesis, ( Hebrew.) Beri or Peri, ' To Cause/ Bar, or Par, 
< A Cause; (Welsh.) 

Siva, * The Destroyer/ ( Indian. ) Sh . v . a . e, ' Desolate / 
Sha-e, 'To Desolate/ (Heb.) 

Vish-nu, 'The Preserver or Saviour/ (Ind.) Ee.sh.v.o.e, 
' Safety, Salvation/ [This root is applied to the Saviour with 
the prefix ML in M|Ou.sh.oc, 'The Messiah.'] Ee.sho, 

■ To save/ (Heb.) 

Rama, ' A conquering Deity, a great Deliverer/ the same 
as the Greek Hercules, (Indian.) R. m, 'To be lifted up, 
exalted.' R . m . e, 'To throw, cast down/ (Hebrew,) 

Cam a, 'The Indian Cupid.' One of his titles is ' Depaca, 
the Inflamer/ ' Love/ (Indian.) Ee . ch . m, ' To be lustful/ 
Ch . in, Ch . m . e, ' Heat/ Ch . m . s, 'To ravish/ (Hebrew.) 

Sur-ya, < A God of the Sun/ (Indian.) See p. 20. 

Sat-yavrata, 'Saturn' of the Latins. Sat.ya, means 
' Truth or Probity/ (Indian.) Sh . th, 'To set, settle, fix/ 
[Hence 'Sooth/ English, not from ' He saith/ as Home 
Tooke conceived.] T . z . d . k, 'Just/ T . z . d . k . e, 'Justice, 
righteousness/ ( Hebrew.) 

I shall now advert to some features of considerable interest 
in the condition of the primitive founders of the European 
nation-, of which language furnishes evidence. 



120 ORIGINAL IDENTITY OF THE ENGLISH, 

The first emigrants must in many instances have brought 
with them from the East a knowledge of fermented liquors, 
as is shown by the following examples : 

Wine (English), Vin-um (Latin), Oin-os (Greek), 
Ee . ee . n (Hebrew), primarily ' The expressed juice of the 
grape/ from Ee . n . e, ' To press, squeeze/ (Hebrew.) 

Osai, ' Cyder, sweet liquor/ (Welsh,) O.s.ee.s, 'Wine/ 
(Hebrew,) from O . s, O . s . s, ' To trample', applied to the 
Grapes. 

M . th . k, ' Sweet, sweetness/ (Hebrew.) Metheg-lyn 
(Welsh,) i.e. M.th.k, ' Sweet, (Hebrew,) and-Lyn, ' Li- 
quor/ (Welsh.) Methu, 'Wine/ (Greek.) Methou, 'Drunk/ 
(Welsh.) These terms may be regarded as primarily derived 
from a word expressive 'of Honey/ and of the wine made from 
that particular substance, as in Madhu, ' Honey/ (Sanscrit,) 
'Mead 5 (English.) 

Mel (Welsh), Mel (Latin), Meli (Greek), 'Honey/ 
Melissa, ' A Bee/ ( Greek.) Mel-ys, ' Sweet/ ( Welsh.) Me- 
litos, 'Honeyed, placid/ (Greek.) M .1 . ts, 'To sweeten, to 
assuage/ (Hebrew.) Melith, ' Honey/ (Gothic.) 

Writers on subjects of this nature have inferred that in the 
earliest stage of society the human species subsisted on the 
spontaneous fruits of the earth or by the chase ; the Pastoral 
state was the next step, and the adoption of agricultural pur- 
suits the last stage in the progress. The Celtic and other 
European languages furnish very distinct evidence that some 
of the European nations must have advanced as far as the 
Pastoral state previously to their migration from the East. 

The art of making 'Butter' is expressed in the Celtic by 
a word of which the Oriental origin is clear : 

Im,* * Butter/ (Gaelic.) 

c'H . m . a . e, ' Butter/ from c'H . m . a, 'To agitate, to 
churn/ (Hebrew.) 

* Ymenyn (ff'elsh). 



WELSH, HINDOOS, JEWS, ARABIANS, ETC. 121 

As this Celtic word is quite unlike the Latin, its Oriental 
origin is clear. It also follows that the primitive art it de- 
scribes could not have been borrowed from the Romans. 

The evidence with regard to ' Cheese* is doubtful. Caseus 
{Latin) may be viewed as allied to K . sh . e, c To harden, to 
stiffen/ (Hebrew.) But as the Hebrew does not present the 
secondary sense, there is no ground to infer that this art was 
brought from the east. Nor, considering the resemblance of 
the Latin Caseus and the Welsh Caws, 'Cheese/ can we 
infer from language, as in the instance of l Butter/ that the 
Celts did not borrow this process from the Romans, which 
most probably they did. 

The following is a comparison, showing at the same time 
the identity of the names for some of the most common 
animals in the Hebrew and the Indo-European languages, 
and also the interesting fact, which is evident from several of 
these examples, that many of the prevalent European names 
for Chattels and Money are identical with Hebrew words for 
Cattle, Sheep, &c, which form the only wealth of the Pastoral 
state ! 

B . k . r, < Cattle/ (Heb.) Pecora, plural of Pec-us, < Cattle/ 
(Lat.) Hence, Pecunia, i Money/ (Lat.) Buwch, 'A cow/ 
(Welsh.) 

R.c.sh, t Cattle, Riches,' (Hebrew.) Reikis, ' Riches/ 
((lot hie.) Riches (English.) 

A . 1 . ph, singular. A . 1 . ph-eem, plural, * Cattle/ (Heb.) 
Alav, singular. Alav-oedd, plural, ' Cattle, Wealth/ (Welsh.) 

< Sheep' ( English.) Schaaf ( German.) C . sh . b, C . b . sh 
(Heb.) Sh . e, < A Lamb/ (Heb.) 

< Sheep/ Kaora, (Irish.) Cor-lan, <A Sheep-fold/ ( Welsh.) 
C . r, ' A Lamb, also a pasture or circuit for cattle/ (Heb.) 

1 A Horse/ Ashwah Eshuus (Sanscrit.) S . w . s, or 



122 ORIGINAL IDENTITY OF THE ENGLISH, 

S . ou , s,* ( Heb.) — Pferd (German,) Peerdt (Belgian,) in 
the Hebrew, Ph . r . sh-eem, * Horsemen/ 

'Cow' (English.) Go (Sanscrit.) G . o . e, 'To low like 
an ox/ (Hebrew.) 

' A Cat/ C ' h . th . ou . 1, (Hebrew.) Cath ( Welsh.) Cat 
(English.) 

'A Monkey/ Kapi, {Sanscrit.) Kouph (Heb.) 

' Goat/ Aix Aig-os, (Greek.) Aja (Sans.) A . k . ou (Heb.) 
' A name given to the wild goat from its cry.'* 

'Hog, Swine/ &c, Sukarah (Sans.) Khuk (Persian.) 
Hog (Eng.) Houch ( Welsh.) Hus (Greek.) C ' H . z . ee . r 
(Hebrew.) 

'Serpent' (English.) Serpens (Latin.) Sarf (TFe/s//.) 
Sh.r.ph (Hebrew.) Serpo, 'To Creep/ (Latin.) 

'Reptile, Serpent/ &c., Neid-yr, 'A Serpent/ (Welsh.) 
Newt, 'A small Lizard/ (English.) N . d . 1, 'A Reptile/ 
(Chaldce.) 

' Turtle Dove' (English.) Turtur ( Latin.) T . r, T . ou . r 
(Hebrew.) 

The connexion between the Hebrew and the English is 
remarkably complete, the same words occurring in both 
languages unchanged in sound and sense ! A few examples 
are subjoined, consisting in many cases of words of pure 
Anglo-Saxon origin, rarely or never used by the refined 
classes of society. 

N.k.m, To avenge, (Hebrew,) To nick (English.) — 
N . g . o, To touch, To draw nigh, (Hebrew,) Nudge, Nigh 
(English.) — B . r, A Son, (Hebrew.) Bairn (L. Scotch,) 
Brat (English.) — Sh . c. 1, To be wise, Wisdom, Chinning, 
(Hebrew,) Skill (English.) — B . k . sh, To seek, To petition, 



* This name is supposed by Hebrew scholars to be expressive of Bwiftaen 
to be derived from S ,s, or Sh . sh, Active, Sprightity. 



WELSH, HINDOOS, JEWS, ARABIANS, ETC. 123 

{Hebrew,) Bhikshati, Beggeth, (Sans.) Beg (English.) — 
Sh.l.t, A Shield, (Hebreiv,) Shield (English,) Shalita, 
Covered, (Sanscrit,) Shalitra, ' Shelter,' (Sanscrit,) Shelter 
(English,) Shieling (L. Scotch.) — L.b, The Heart, Feeling, 
Will, (Hebrew,) Lieb e, Love, (German,) Lief, Dear, 
Willingly, ( English . ) 

Colonel Vans Kennedy, to whom we are indebted for a 
very able work conclusively showing the original identity of 
the Sanscrit and English and other languages termed Indo- 
European, is one of the most strenuous opponents of the 
supposition that a connexion may be shown to exist between 
these languages and the Hebrew, an idea which he treats as 
in the highest degree visionary and delusive ! In the follow- 
ing, as in some of the previous examples, the instances of re- 
semblance between the Sanscrit and the English which this 
writer has himself selected are compared with Hebrew words, 
identical with these terms in sound and sense ! In many 
cases it will be seen that the Hebrew terms are even nearer 
to the English than the Sanscrit terms are ! 

Muhatwah (Sous,) Might (Eng.) M.a.d, 'Might/ 
(Hch.)— Rosha, Raga (Sans.) Rage (Eng.) R . g . z (Heb.)— 
Kupam, A Receptacle, {Sans.) Coop (Eng.) K . ph . ts, 
To shut, close up, contract, (Heb.) — Duhitr (Sans.) Daughter 
(Eng.) Dochter (Scotch.) D . g, To multiply, (He b.) Tek-os, 
Progeny; Tek-on, Bringing forth, (Greek.) — Shringa (Sans.) 
Horn (Eng.) Cornu (Lat.) K . r . n (Heh.)-—h$*X, A Cala- 
mity, (Sans.) Ab.ad.n, Destruction, (Heb.) — Balawan, 
Powerful, (Sans.) B . o . 1, A Master, to have power, (Heb.) 
'Baal,' i.e. The Ruler, name of an idol. — Shira, The Head, 
(Sans.) Sh . r, A Prince, A Ruler, (Heb.) — Ghashati (Sans.) 
Gusheth (Eng.) G , sh . m, To rain, A violent Shower, (Heb.) 
t Geesers/ Fountains of Hot Water in Iceland. — Grushta 
{Sans.) Grist (Eng.) G . r . s, To break, crush to pieces, 
Wheat beaten out, (Heb.) — Torati (Sans.) Teareth, Tore, 



124 IDENTITY OF THE ENGLISH, WELSH, ETC. 

(Eng.) T . r . ph, To tear off, To tear to pieces, (Heb.) Tori 
Welsh.) — Diyati (Sans.) Dieth {Eng.) Dee . e, Blackness 
of colour,* (Heb.) Dee.ou.a, The Devil, (Syriac.) Dee.ou.v, 
Ink, (Heb.) Dee, Black, (Welsh.) — Pesati (Sans.) Paceth 
(Eng.) Psh.o, To pass, a pace, (Heb.) — Ranati (Sans.) 
Runneth (Eng.) R . n (Heb.) — Shara (Sans.) Gar. Arrow 
(Ang.-Sax.) Sh . r . ee . e, A Dart, (Heb.) — Shatati (Sans.) 
Shutteth; Sheath, (Eng.) S . th . m, To stop up, hide, 
conceal, S . th . ee . m . e, A Secret, (Heb.) -Stum, Dumb, 
(Ger.) 

It must be quite evident that in these examples the affinity 
in words between the Hebrew and the Indo-European lan- 
guages is as close as that which exists among those languages 
themselves. The difference of grammatical forms has been 
much insisted upon. This ground, where it occurs, has al- 
ready been proved to afford no evidence of a remote difference 
of race. (See p. 89.) But in treating of the North Ameri- 
can Indian dialects, I shall show that no such grammatical 
difference does exist in this instance, the Hebrew pronouns, 
which are the basis of its grammar, being identical with those 
of the Welsh,f now considered to be a member of the Indo- 
European group of tongues. 

* From the change of hue the body undergoes in death. 

t Other examples of the affinity of the Hebrew and the Welsh have been ex- 
amined with great ability by Dr. William Owen Pughe, in the Cymrodorion 
Transactions. There is also a valuable old work on the connexion of the Hebrew 
with other languages, by Mr. Barker, schoolmaster, Carmarthen. 



CHAPTER V. 

DEXTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, 
AND OTHER BRANCHES OF THE HUMAN RACE. 



Section I. 



Identity of the ancient Indian and Egyptian Mythology, fyc. 
\ antes of the Egyptian Cods, signijicant in the Hebrew 
and Indo-European Tongues. Dr. Lepsius's comments on 
( 'hanipo/liun's opinion that the Modern Egyptian does not 
differ from the Egyptian of the oldest Monuments. 
Proofs <f changes. Proofs from Language that the ori- 
gin of the Egyptians cannot be referred to the very remote 
date fixed by some writers. Causes of the primitive 
fait/ires of the Hebrew and the Sanscrit. Identity of 
Sanscrit and Scriptural account of the Creation and of the 
Origin of the Human Race. Sir H illiam Jones's expla- 
nation of this coincidence. High antiquity of the Indian 
Vedas. 

We are indebted to Dr. Prichard* for a comprehensive and 
satisfactory demonstration of the resemblance in manners, 
mythology, and in social and political institutions of the 
ancient Egyptians and Indians. These Nations agreed in re- 
ligious and philosophical dogmas, in a superstitious veneration 
of animals and of the most conspicuous objects of nature, in 

• Dr. Prichard on Egyptian Mythology. 



]26 IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS 

the system of Castes, and in other features. Dr. Pilchard's 
German translator, the celebrated A. W. Schlegel, has at- 
tempted to account for these points of coincidence by the 
ordinary tendencies of human nature under similar circum- 
stances, a theory which, though maintained with distinguished 
ability, must be felt to be essentially paradoxical. As Dr. 
Prichard observes : " No person who fully considers the in- 
" timate relation and almost exact parallelism that has been 
"traced between the Egyptians and the Hindoos, will be 
"perfectly satisfied with such a solution in that particular 
"example."* 

Dr. Prichard concludes that these features of resemblance 
must be ascribed to a common origin. But in the adoption 
of this conclusion he encounters a formidable difficulty, arising 
from the consideration that the Egyptian Tongue cannot, 
according to his views, be identified with the other languages 
of mankind. 

This difficulty, like many others of the same nature, will 
be found to receive a satisfactory solution from the compa- 
rison contained in Appendix A, in which are embodied a 
greater number of words from the Egyptian than from any 
other language of the African continent. It will thence be 
evident that the failure which has attended the attempts of 
the writers noticed by Dr. Prichard to identify the Egyptian 
with the Asiatic languages, has arisen from the predominant 
error of Philological writers, — viz. the expectation of finding 
in every respect a close and peculiar affinity between the 
languages of nations, who, though contiguous, must in all 
probability have been separated in the earliest ages of the 
world. Hence the unsuccessful issue of those researches of 
which the object has been to show that the Egyptian is a 
dialect of the Hebrew. But, notwithstanding the unfavorable 

* Dr. Prichard on Man. 



WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, ETC. 127 

result which has necessarily attended investigations conducted 
on a false basis, it will be seen, nevertheless, that the adoption 
of a wider range of comparison, agreeably to the principles 
explained at p. 16 and p. 87, and earned out in Appendix A, 
serves to render unequivocally manifest the original unity of 
the Egyptians not only with the Jews and other nations of 
Asia, but also with those of all the four continents. In this 
place I shall introduce, in illustration of this proposition, some 
additional examples, which possess an independent interest 
in connexion with Dr. Prichard's inquiry into the mythology 
of the Egyptians, and with the analogous inquiries pursued 
in the last Chapter of this work. 

The Names of most, if not all, of the Egyptian Gods are 
susceptible of a perfectly unequivocal explanation by means 
of the Hebrew and the Indo-European languages.* This 
will be evident from the following analysis, in which I have 
availed myself of the account of their names and attributes 
given by a high authority — Mr. Wilkinson.t 

'Neph, Phtah, and Khem,' the first three of the Egyptian 
Gods noticed below, represent attributes of the Deity. 

Kxeph, or, more properly, Neph or Nef, c The Spirit 
of God which moved on the face of the Waters.'^ Nouf, 
< Spirit.' Nife, < To breathe, to blow.' Nifi, ' Inspiration,' 
[Egypt.) This word, Neph, has been shown to exist in the 
same and in analogous senses in the Hebrew and Indo- 
European tongues. It has also been pointed out as occurring 
in a remarkable instance as a word for a ' Spirit,' and also as 

* In some of these instances the Coptic or Egyptian has lost the original mean- 
ing of these appellations, in others it has preserved them in common with the 
Hebrew and Indo-European Tongues. 

t Materia Hieroglyphiea. 

t Wilkinson. 



/ 

128 IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS 

a name of the ' Supreme Being,' amon^the North American 
Indians. (See p. 24.*) 

Pthah, 'The Creative Power that made the World/ 
styled 'The Father of the Gods/f 

Pita, Pitre (Sanscrit,) 'A Father.' Phu-o, ' Gigno, Pro- 
duco.' Phu teuo, ' Machinor SemTno.' Pat-er, ' A Father,' 
(Greek.) 

Khem, < The Sun/ (See p. 2 1 .) 

Rah, ' Sun/ < The Material and Visible Orb.' (See App. 
pp. 2 and 3.) 

Ph-Ruh, ' Ph,' 'The/ and Rah, ' Sun.' Hence the name 
' Pharaoh/ applied to the Kings of Egypt. 

Amun-Ra, ' The splendour and beneficent property of the 
Sun/ ' Jupiter- Ammon ' of the classical nations. 

The word A . m . n, in Hebrew, implies ' nurturing or 
fostering care, to support, to sustain/ In Egypt there is a 
verb Amoni 'To hold/ and Amoni < To feed.' Amoun in 
Hebrew, and Mone in Egypt, mean ' A Nurse/ and in Egypt 
'A Shepherd.' 

Amoni, ' Patience/ (Egypt.) Amyn-edd ■ Patience/ Amoun 
' To defend/ M-ou yn, ' Kind/ ( Welsh.) 

Neith or Maut, 'Minerva, called the Mother of the 
Gods/ Mata (Satiscrit.) Mat-er {Latin.) Maau {Egypt.) 
A . m . a (Heb.) < A Mother.' 

The names of Osiris and Serapis have been explained at 
p. 20; that of Hor ('Horus,') in Appendix A, p. 2; that 
of Io, 'The Visible Body of the Moon. 'J in Appendix A. 
pp. 24-25. 

* Among the Egyptian Deities is Anep, Anepo, the classical Auubis, " The 
Conductor of Souls." 

t Wilkinson, p. 11, note 4. ♦ Ibid. 



WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, ETC. 129 

It will be observed that the Egyptian mythology, like that 
of the Indo-European nations, as noticed in the last section, 
distinctly combines with Personifications of the powers of 
nature, views of the attributes and agencies of the Supreme 
Being which occur in the Hebrew Scriptures, as in the in- 
stance of 'Neph.' It is remarkable that the same allusion 
as this name presents, occurs in the Hindoo mythology in 
Narayana, one of the names given to Vishnu, the Deity 
viewed as a preserver or Saviour. Sir William Jones thus 
explains this term in a quotation from a passage in which 
Menu, the son of Brahma, begins his address to the Sages 
who consulted him on the formation of the Universe. ct The 
kf waters are called nurci, since they are the offspring of Nera, 
"(or 1'swaka ;) and thence was Narayana named, because 
" his first ayana or moving, was on them !"* 

X-Eerooue means 'Waters' in Egyptian, from Eiero, 
' Water/ the plural being formed by N prefix. 

Thus it is evident that a comparison of languages in those 
very instances which arc connected with the subject, so far 
from impugning the conclusion that the mythology of the 
Hindoos and Egyptians had a common origin, affords irre- 
sistible corroborative proofs of the correctness of that opinion. 
Further, it is apparent in the instance of the Egyptian as of 
the Indo-European race, that their religious system embodied, 
in combination with an idolatrous superstructure, the same 
views of the Supreme Being as arc developed in the Penta- 
teuch. 

In some of the foregoing instances, the words of which the 
names of the Egyptian gods are composed have been preserved 
in the Egyptian itself conjointly with the Hebrew and other 
languages. But there are also several instances in which these 
terms have been lost in the Egyptian, though preserved in 

William Jour- on the Godfl of Greece, Italy, and India. 



130 IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS 

other tongues. This is a distinct proof that the origin of the 
Egyptian language is mainly ascribable to the same cause, 
which has been previously pointed out as the principal source 
of the gradual divergence of the different dialects of the 
Celtic and Scandinavian, &c. The Egyptian cannot be said 
to differ from the Hebrew or the Sanscrit more widely than 
the Celtic and Gothic differ, though the common origin of 
the two last may be shown indisputably. At what precise 
periods the different changes in the Egyptian language took 
place, we have not as yet the means of fully deciding. But 
we are not altogether without historical evidence that this 
language has undergone mutations, analogous to those which 
have occurred in other tongues. Champollion, to whose 
genius we are principally indebted for a solution of the 
Egyptian system of hieroglyphics, was of opinion that the 
Coptic or modern Egyptian is perfectly identical with the 
language of the most ancient monuments. But this opinion 
has been combated with ability and success by Dr. Lepsius, 
to whom we owe much information with regard to the 
ancient Egyptian remains, especially the brilliant discovery 
that the alphabet of Egyptian hieroglyphics, supposed by 
Champollion to consist of 300, is reducible to thirty letters.* 
Dr. Lepsius points out many striking instances of deviation. 
Thus he notices that Plutarch, in explaining the name of 
Osiris, whose symbol was The Eye, informs us that the 
Egyptians called the Eye <Iri/ a word not found in the 
Coptic, in which ( BaP is the only term used for that organ. 

Dr. Lepsius has also produced in illustration of his views 
several examples, in which he infers from the mode of spell- 
ing, that the same terms must have been pronounced in the 
age of hieroglyphics in a different manner from what they 
were in the Coptic. The following are instances : 

* Lepsius Lettre a Rosselini. 



WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, ETC. 



131 



ENGLISH. 


ANCIENT EGYPTIAN OF 
THE AGE OF HIERO- 
GLYPHICS. 


MODERN EGYPTIAN OR 
COPTIC. 


The Sun 


R.ba. 


Ra. 


Day 


H .rou. 


Hour. 


The Sea 


Imo. 


Iom. 


A Swine 


R .r i. 


Rir. 



It has been previously shown by a comparison of tongues 
of which the history can be traced, that language in its in- 
fancy appears to have abounded in full and harsh tones and 
in rough aspirates, which were gradually exchanged for softer 
and more abbreviated forms during more advanced stages of 
society. The conformity of these examples to this principle 
will be obvious, especially when they are compared with the 
instances of similar changes in the Manx and Irish, &c. 
noticed at page 108, a comparison which must tend very 
strongly to confirm the soundness of Dr. Lepsius's conclu- 
sions. Since the recent origin of the Hebrew and Sanscrit 
Language! and of the Hebrew and Indian nations have been 
shown on the one hand, while on the other the identity of 
the Egyptian with those tongues has also been established, it 
follows that the origin of the Egyptian nation cannot be re- 
ferred to a period anterior to that which our received systems 
of chronology would lead us to adopt as the era of the sepa- 
ration of nations. The harsh and full pronunciation which 
seems to have characterized the most ancient specimens of 
the Egyptian language tends strongly to support the same 
conclusion. 

In the previous pages a peculiarly primitive character has 
been attributed to two ancient languages just adverted to, viz. 
the Hebrew and the Sanscrit. Both these tongues, it has been 
observed, display in a higher degree than any other the cha- 
racteristic features of language near its source. As regards the 



132 IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS 

former of these tongues, the Hebrew, there is an obvious reason 
for the primitive forms of language it involves in the high 
antiquity of a portion of its remains, viz. the first Books of 
Scripture, which are more ancient by many centuries than 
the poems of Homer, the most venerable literary remains of 
Europe. It is a remarkable fact that there is every reason to 
believe that the same explanation will be found to apply in 
an equal degree to the Sanscrit. According to the opinions 
of many of the most distinguished Orientalists, it would 
appear that the earliest Vedas, the oldest mythological books 
of the Indians, are not less ancient than the Pentateuch. 
Sir William Jones, whose candour and love of truth were 
not inferior to his accomplishments, concluded the Vedas to 
have been written about J 500 years B.C. The soundness of 
this opinion was at one time much questioned ; but it has 
been confirmed by the sanction of some of the ablest of those 
who, — with the advantage of more recently accumulated in- 
formation, have in our time pursued the same path of inquiry 
— in a manner that serves to place in a striking point of view 
the vast knowledge and the bold and sagacious judgment of 
its great author. Ritter, a distinguished German Orientalist, 
concludes the Vedas to have been collected during the period 
from 1400 to 1600, B.C.; and Mr. Colebrooke, whose 
researches are of the highest value, appears to have shown 
finally that the earliest Vedas were probably written about 
1400 years B.C.* It is highly deserving of notice that these 
various dates all fall about the time of the Exodus of the 
Israelites from Egypt, 1490 B.C. 

The account given in the Vedas of the early history of the 
world coincides in its most important features with the Scrip- 
tural relation in a manner not to be mistaken. Sir William 

* See a short summary of Mr. Colebrooke's views in Dr. Prichard on Man. in 
his observations on the Egyptians. 



WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, ETC. 133 

Jones, struck with these features of resemblance, has inti- 
mated an opinion that the Indian account of the Creation, of 
the Deluge,* and other events may have been borrowed from 
the Jewish nation.f It is remarkable that this opinion will 
be found to involve a singular anachronism, if we adopt Sir 
William Jones's own views with respect to the date of the 
Yedas, viz. that they were written 1500 years B.C. This date 
is ten years prior to the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, 
an event from which their national existence and the compo- 
sition of their earliest scriptures may be said to have com- 
menced. 

It is highly improbable in every point of view that the 
Indians could have borrowed from the Jews some of the 
most important doctrines of their religious belief. But the 
coincidences noticed by Sir William Jones and other writers, 
and tlie peculiarly vivid and distinct nature of the accounts 
contained in the Yeclas, admit of a more simple and consistent 
explanation. If, agreeably to the opinions of Mr. Colebrooke, 

Mime these books to have been compiled about 1400 
years B.C., it would follow that they embody a narrative much 
nearer in point of date to the events they record than any 
other, with the exception of the Pentateuch. 

From the Deluge to 1400 B.C. there was a lapse of 948 

only. Now we have satisfactory evidence that traditions 
far less calculated to leave a lasting impression have been 

vwd in many Instances among separate tribes with con- 
siderable uniformity for a much longer period. Thus we 
know that the Fairy Tales of the English and Germans, and 
of the Welsh and Armoricans, agree in their main features, 
though in both instances there has been a separation for an 
interval of much greater duration. 

• Sir William Jones on the Goda of Greece, Italy, and India. + Ibid. 



134 IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS 

Traditions similar to those embodied in the Vedas occur 
in the classical fable of Deucalion and Pyrrha, in the remains 
of the Chaldeans, and of other primitive nations. It is only 
in the Scriptural narrative that we meet with a relation of 
the first incidents in the history of man unmingled with fables 
derogatory to the attributes of his Creator. But though 
clouded with mythological fictions, the remains of many 
ancient nations impressively display a fresh and vivid remi- 
niscence of the sublime events they record. 



WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, ETC. 135 



Section II. 

High Antiquity of the Egyptian Nation. Interesting Cha- 
racter of Egyptian Remains. Extent of Egyptian Con- 
quests. Tartars, Part hians, Turks, fyc. Figures of J ews 
on Egyptian Monuments. Egyptian and Semetic Lan- 
guages and Races connecting links between the Asiatic and 
African Languages and Races. 

The Egyptian annals of Manetho seem to convey the in- 
ference that there must have been in Egypt a series of thirty 
dynasties, whose reigns occupied a period of time reaching 
far beyond the commencement of our received chronology. 
It appears, however, that in the present age the most emi- 
nent writers on the antiquities of Egypt are agreed in reject- 
ing this conclusion. The long dynasties of these chronicles 
are referred by some writers to repetition, by others to the 
coexistence of distinct dynasties in different parts of Egypt. 

But the same eminent writers who have agreed in repu- 
diating the conclusion that seems to be conveyed by Manetho 
may be said to be equally unanimous in referring the origin 
of the Egyptians to a date which, tried by the standard of re- 
ceived chronology, will be found to coincide with the very 
first age in the history of nations. 

" By a comparison of Manetho's work with the Theban 
" table of Eratosthenes," observes Dr. Prichard,* "we find 
"satisfactory data for fixing the origin of the Egyptian 
"monarchy as deduced from these documents in the 24th 
" century before our era." 

Other eminent writers on this subject do not perfectly co- 
incide with Dr. Prichard in adopting this precise date. But 

• Prichard on Man, vol. ii. p. 199. 



136 



IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS 



they all fix on pretty nearly the same time, which, it will be 
observed, is about the era of the Flood of Scripture, which 
immediately preceded the diffusion of the human race. In 
the annexed Table I have introduced a compendious statement 
of the views of these writers, more especially of the author 
of a work entitled ( A Monumental History of Egypt/ in a 
form that will exhibit concurrently the principal Chronologi- 
cal facts and the progress of Writing in Egypt. I may ob- 
serve that Dr. Lepsius is of opinion that Hieroglyphics, which 
is a mode of conveying ideas by representations of objects 
without reference to their names, was the source, — (by means 
of a gradual transition,) — of phonetic characters, which repre- 
sented their names or words. 



EGYPTIAN CHRONOLOGY. 

Doubtful Period, 
The accession of Menai or 
Menes, and earlier Egyptian 
Kings.* 



PROGRESS OF HIEROGLY- 
PHICS AND WRITING. 



First Pyramid built, ^ 
it is supposed, B.C. / 



2123 



Historical. 
Abraham visits Egypt . 1920 



Osirtasen united Egypt -i 
into one Monarchy J 



Joseph in Egypt . . 1706 
18th Dynasty . . 1575 



No Hieroglyphics on this 
Pyramid. 

Hieroglyphics invented, 
and gave rise to Phonetic 
writing, between 2123 and 
1740. 

The name of Osirtasen, in 
this reign the first known 
specimen of Phonetic cha- 
racters. {Monumental Hist.) 



Age of MSS. (Dr. Lepsius.) 



* Mr. Wilkinson refers the reign of Menes to -2320 b.c 



WITH THE INDIANS^ JEWS, ETC. 137 

According to the author of the Monumental History, pre- 
viously to the year 1740 B.C., the commencement of the reign 
of Osirtasen, who is believed to have been the contemporary 
and patron of Joseph, " we have little to guide us on the 
u Monuments of ancient Egypt." According to the same 
writer, he was the first who united Egypt into one kingdom, 
that country, he maintains, having previously been divided 
into little unimportant kingdoms. 

The arguments of this able writer, however, do not impugn 
the conclusion, that though the precise date may be uncertain, 
the origin of the Egyptian nation must be referred to the first 
ages of the human race. The condition of the Egyptians in 
1740 n.c. implies a prior existence for many ages, of which 
we have a distinct proof in the visit of (the Patriarch) Abraham 
centuries previously. 
1/ The marvellous discoveries made in our day by Champollion, 
Belzoni, and others, may be said to have thrown a new r light 
on the early history not only of Egypt but of the world ! 
Proofs the most startling have been brought to light of the 
vast political power and high civilization of the Egyptian 
nation, combined with a knowledge of science in many branches 

ircelj surpassed in the present and not equalled in the last 
gem-ration of European nations ! In the Egyptian paintings 
we have the most distinct portraits, representing not only 
Negroes, Jews, and other neighbouring races, but also of 
nations whose light complexions, peculiar physiognomy, and 
equipments, combined as they sometimes are with delinea- 
tions of the costumes or natural productions of the countries 
of which they were natives, betoken the inhabitants of more / 
northern latitudes, confirming the account of Tacitus, who 
states " The Egyptians overran all Libya and Ethiopia, and 
" subdued the Medes and Persians, the Bactrians and 
" Scythians, with the extensive regions inhabited by the 



138 IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS 

" Syrians, the Armenians, and the Cappadocians ; and by 
" this conquest a tract of country extending from Bithynia 
" on the Pontic Sea to the coast of Syria on the Mediterranean 
ic was reduced to subjection." 

The evidence seems to be clear that some of the nations 
with whom the Egyptian armies fought, may be identified 
with the principal Asiatic nations still inhabiting the borders 
of the Caspian. 

(i On six of the Phonetic Ovals (published by Champollion) 
" are the names of the heads of the various countries con- 
" quered by Sesostris. On one appears the generic name of 
" the Scheti (spelt Sh . e . d . te) ; on the second, the generic 
" name of the sons of Mosech or the Muscovites, spelt pre- 
" cisely as in the Hebrew (M . s . ek) ; thirdly, the people of 
" Arakan, spelt very nearly as that name is sounded (as, for 
" example, Ar-rk-k-a-n) ; fourthly, the people of Casan (spelt 
" C-a-s-n); the fifth is probably Susa, but the middle vowel is 
" omitted, and it stands S-se."* 

Casan is a Tartar province, conquered by Russia in the 
16th century. 

The Scheti, according to Champollion 's opinion, were the 
Scythians of the classical nations, the modern Tartars.t 

A conflict between the Egyptians and the Scheti or Scheta 
forms the subject of one of the most interesting Egyptian 
battle-pieces, which displays in a striking point of view the 
high military discipline of the Egyptians. Mr. Wilkinson 
describes the Scheti " as a nation who had made considerable 
" progress in military tactics, both with respect to manoeuvres 
" in the field and the art of fortifying towns, some of which 

* Foreign Quarterly, 1836. I conceive, however, that the conclusion of the 
ingenious reviewer as to the identity ofM.s.e.k with the name of the Musco- 
vites, may require reconsideration. See Adelung on the Russians, and Vol. I. 
p. 314. 

t Adelung. 



WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, ETC. 139 

" they surrounded with a double fosse. It is worthy of re- 
u mark, that in these cases the approach to the place led over 
" a bridge ; and the sculptures acquainting us with the fact 
u are highly interesting, as they offer us the earliest indication 
u of its use, having been executed in the reign of the great 
" Ramesis, about 1350 years before our era/' 

***** 

" Their arms were the bow, sword, and spear, and a wicker 

shield." 

***** 

" They had some cavalry, but large masses of infantry with 
"a formidable body of chariots, constituted the principal 
" force of their numerous and well-appointed army ; and if 
" from the manner in which they posted their corps-de-reserve 
'* \\( may infer them to have been a people skilled in war, 
" some idea may also be formed of the strength of their army 
"from the numbers composing that division, which amounted 
*' to J4,000 men, drawn up in three close phalanxes, con- 
sisting each of 8,000." 

Mr. Wilkinson notices three other nations among those 
who were connected with the Egyptians either as enemies 
or allies, viz. 4 The Rebo,' ' The Shairetana/ and 'The 
Tok-kari.' 

The Rebo were among the most formidable enemies of the 
Egyptians. They were distinguished by a light complexion, 
blue eyes, an aquiline nose, and a costume very like that of 
Persia or Parthia, indicating a northern as well as an 
Asiatic country ; they wore earrings, and their chiefs some- 
times tattoed their arms and legs; they appear as the type 
of Asia in some of the Egyptian drawings. Their chief 
weapons were a long straight sword, with a sharp point, and 
a bow. Chainpollion concluded the Rebo to have been the 
Parthians. 



140 IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS 

Mr. Wilkinson expresses himself unable to trace the 
Shairetana and the Tok-kari ; I conceive, however, that their 
names and other circumstances serve to identify them with 
the Sogdians or Bucharians and the Turks, whose territories 
are intermingled. The name of the Tok-kari obviously re- 
sembles that of the Turks, and, according to Adelung, the 
Bucharians, from their dwelling in Towns, &c, are called 
Sarti, a name resembling that of the Shairetana. The 
Shairetana and Tok-kari revolted together against the 
Egyptians, and were again subdued. The Tok-kari used 
waggons with two solid wheels, and drawn by two oxen, 
which appear to have been placed in the rear as in the 
Sc} r thian or Tartar armies. Their women are seen carrying 
off their children by drawing them into these waggons at the 
moment of defeat. These are traits characteristic of the 
Tartar race, of which the Turks are a branch. These nations 
were occasionally allied with the Egyptians both against the 
Scheti and the Rebo, which implies that their country was in- 
termediate between that of the Parthians and the Tartars. 

The Egyptian illustrations of Scriptural incidents and lo- 
calities are of the highest interest : 

Champollion found a portrait of a Hebrew, with all the 
features of the race, in a group consisting of the chiefs of 
thirty conquered nations, whom an Egyptian King is de- 
picted dragging to the feet of the Theban Trinity. The 
name of the Egyptian King was phonetically written 
1 Shishak/ the name of the Jewish captive was written 
' Joudaha Melek,' King of Judea or the Jews. (See I. Kings, 
14 chap. '2q and 26 v.) This picture, as Mr. Tattam* ob- 
serves, may be considered as a commentary on this chapter ! 

Portraits of Jews are frequent amongst the Egyptian re- 

* Tattam's Egyptian Grammar. 



WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, ETC. 141 

mains. "The costume of these Jews is always the same. 
" They wear their black bushy hair occasionally bound by a 
"red fillet; but sometimes they wear hats not unlike the 
"hats dramatically assigned to the Jews of the dark ages. 
"They wear sandals, the military petticoat or philibeg, a 
" baldric crossing one shoulder, a girdle, to which is attached 
" a short sword or dagger, and when engaged in warlike ope- 
" rations, having the upper part of the body covered with a 
" defensive coat, either of leather or armour, and wearing 
"'above the whole a tippet like the cape of a great coat. In- 
dependent of Phonetic language a mere glance at their 
'• lineaments shows that they are Jews!"* 

The early development of the vast political power and high 
civilization of this extraordinary people corroborates the con- 
clusion, that the origin of the Egyptian nation must be re- 
ferred to a period sufficiently remote to render it extremely 
improbable that a close specific resemblance should have con- 
tinued to exist between their language and those of the 
countries from which the first population of Egypt may have 
emigrated. Tin- inference does not militate against the sup- 
position that Egypt may have been first colonized from the 
contiguous Semetic or Syro Phoenician regions of Judaea and 
Arabia.f 

The literature of ancient Egypt forms a treasure as yet 
but imperfectly explored. * We possess," says Dr. Lepsius, 
i( Hieratic MSS. as far back as the flourishing epoch of the 
* eighteenth dynasty, (which began to reign B.C. 1575, i.e. 
" eighty years before the departure of the Israelites,) and it 
u is probable that this style was in use even earlier. We 

• Foreign Quarterly Review. 

+ There Is an able pamphlet by Dr. Lbewe, in which he maintains the Hebrew 
to be the Parent ol the Egyptian. Dr. Lbewe's examples appear to me to be 
equally conclusive against the specific connexion he advocates, and in support of 
the original unity of these tongues at a remote era. 



142 IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS 

" have MSS. on History, Astrology, Magic, ' Registres de 
" Compt abilities' and especially a great quantity of MSS. on 
" Funeral matters/ 5 

These remains are probably pregnant with information of 
the profoundest interest with regard to the early history of 
mankind ! Further inquiries similar to those conducted by 
Dr. Lepsius with respect to the phases through which the 
Egyptian Tongue has passed, will probably bring to light 
numerous proofs of an increasing approximation in its most 
ancient specimens to the languages of Asia and also to 
those of the other regions of the continent of Africa. Even 
in the present state of our knowledge, I may point out that 
indications are not altogether wanting that the Hebrew and 
other Semetic Tongues in some respects appear to form a 
connecting link between the Egyptian and other African 
languages, on the one hand, and the Sanscrit and other lan- 
guages, termed Indo-European, on the other. These indica- 
tions occur not in the words but in the structure of the 
Semetic Tongues. 

In explaining the origin of language, I have noticed that 
the basis or Root of the Noun and Verb is the same, while 
the requisite distinction between the different parts of speech 
is made by appropriate additions, as in the instance of the 
syllable Er, in Build-er. 

It may be inferred that all additions now employed gram- 
matically as prefixes or suffixes were in the first instance 
used indifferently either before or after the Root. But we 
find, in this respect, a marked difference between the Indo- 
European and the Egyptian Tongues. In the former, these 
grammatical agents are almost invariably placed after, while 
in the Egyptian they in some instances follow, and in others 
precede the Root. It will be evident, however, that these 
grammatical forms themselves are, in numerous important 



WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, ETC. 143 

instances, the same in these two Classes of Tongues, and that 
it is only the order in which they are placed that is different. 
Thus, in forming the feminine from the masculine, the 
Egyptians used a prefix, Th, which forms a suffix in the 
Welsh, as in Son,* c A Brother,' Th-son, < A Sister,' {Egypt.) 
Gen-eth, c A Girl/ ( Welsh.) Again, the Egyptian plural is 
formed by prefixing N, as in Phe, Heaven, singular; N Pheou, 
Heavens, plural, {Egypt.,) while in many of the Indo- 
European tongues plurals are often formed by subjoining N, 
as in Ox, Ox-en (Eng.), Ych, Ych-en (Welsh), &c. 

Now in the Hebrew, Chaldee, &c, though suffixes are em- 
ployed in numerous instances, formative prefixes are also 
used, though not so generally as in the Egyptian, between 
which language and the Indo-European tongues the Semetic 
languages therefore occupy, in this respect, an intermediate 
place. 

There is, I conceive, pretty distinct evidence that these 
characteristic peculiarities of the three classes of Tongues 
just adverted to are results of comparatively recent conven- 
tional changes. For a proof that the above noticed formative 
of the plural was at one time prefixed, as well as affixed, in 
the Indo-European Tongues, — see, as regards the Sanscrit, 
the word Nara, corresponding with the Egyptian, p. 129; — 
as regards the Welsh, see Appendix A, p. 38. On the other 
hand, Dr. Lepsius^s researches have furnished me with a 
decisive example of an approximation in the ancient Egyptian 
to the Indo-European method. "In the age of Hieroglyphics/' 
he observes, " the feminine termination Th," above noticed, 
" always follows, while in Coptic it always precedes the 
" Noun." 

Changes of this nature may be considered trifling in them- 

* Compare Sohn (German), Son (English). 



144 IDENTITY OF THE EGYPTIANS 

selves ; but they will be found to afford an explanation, at 
once simple and comprehensive, of the most striking of those 
features which separate, by differences supposed to be funda- 
mental, the languages of the Egyptian and Syro-Phcenician 
races from those of the other families of mankind. In gram- 
matical arrangement the African languages are supposed for 
the most part to agree with the Egyptian.* 

In physiological characteristics it has been very distinctly 
established, by the interesting researches of Dr. Prichard, 
that the Egyptian or Coptic race forms a connecting link 
between the contiguous Asiatic nations and the Negroes of 
the interior of Africa. It is worthy of remark, that Vater f 
notices the projection of the nether jaw, f Unterkiefer,' as a 
characteristic trait of the Jewish nation ! It is observable 
that this is a point of approximation to the African nations ! 

" If we may form an idea," says Dr. Prichard, u of the 
" complexion of the Egyptians from the numerous paintings 
" found in their temples, and in splendidly decorated tombs, 
" in some of which the colours are known to be preserved in 
" a very fresh state, we must conclude that this people were 
" of a red-copper, or light chocolate colour, and that they 
" resembled the reddest of the Fiilah and Kafir tribes now 
" existing in Africa. This colour may be seen in the nu- 
" merous plates in the ' Description de FEgypte/ and in the 
" coloured figures given by Belzoni. A similar complexion 
" is represented on the heads of the cases made of the 
" sycamore-wood, which answer the purpose of sarcophagi, 
" and in almost all Egyptian figures. This red colour is 
" evidently intended to represent the complexion of the 
" people, and is not put on in the want of a lighter paint, or 
" flesh-colour, for when the limbs or bodies are represented 

• See Dr. Prichard on Man. + Mithridates, under Africa. 



WITH THE INDIANS, JEWS, ETC. 145 

" as seen through a thin veil, the tint used resembles the 
" complexion of Europeans. The same shade might have 
" been generally adopted if a darker one had not been pre- 
" ferred, as more truly representing the national ccmplexion 
" of the Egyptian race.* Female figures are sometimes dis- 
" tinguished by a yellow or tawny colour." 

" Speaking of the Copts, Volney says that they have a yel- 
" lowish, dusky complexion, neither resembling the Grecian 
" nor Arabian. He adds, that they have a puffed visage, 
" stvoln eyes, fiat nose, and thick lips, and bear much resem- 
u blance to Mulattoes. I have already cited Baron Larrey^s 
description of the Copts, the principal traits of which are, 
" a full countenance, a long aperture of the eyelids — f coupes 
" en amand,' — projecting cheek-bones, dilated nostrils, thick 
u lips, and hair and beard black and crisp. M. Pugnet, an 
" intelligent physician and an ingenious and discriminating 
u writer, has made an attempt to distinguish the Copts, or 
" Qoubtes, as he terms them, into two divisions, those whose 
M ancestry has been intermixed, and partly of Greek and 
" Latin descent, and a class of purely Egyptian origin. He 
" says that nothing is more striking than the contrast between 
* the small and meagre Arabs and the large and fine stature 
" of the Qoubtes. ' A l'exterieur chetif et miserable des pre- 
" mieres, ceux-ci opposent un air de majeste et de puissance; 
u a la rudesse de leurs traits, une affabilite soutenue ; a leur 
" abord inquiet et soucieux, une figure tres epanouie/ " + 

A few further examples of the connexion of the Egyptian 
with other languages are subjoined. Onh, 'A Dwelling,' 
[Egypt.,) Wohn-ung, Wohn-en {German), Onh, e To live/ 
(Eg.,) On (Greek.)— Shage, c A Word, a Discourse,' (Eg.,) 

• See Belzoni's Travels, p. 239. t Prichard on Man. 

10 



146 IDENTITY OF EGYPTIANS WITH INDIANS, ETC. 

Sage, Sag-en [German), Say {English). The e Sagas' of the 
Gothic nations are venerable Oral traditions ! — Hinim, ' Sleep, ' 
(-Eg.,) Heen (Welsh.) — Eshau, 6 A Sow, or Swine/ (Eg.,) 
Hus (Greek), Sow (Etig.) — Iri, 'To do/ (Eg.,) a formative 
expressive of Action ; Aud-ire, 'To hear/ Ire, f To go/ (Lat.) 
-Ra.ma, 'Lofty/ (Eg.,) R.ou.m (Hebrew.)— Phath, 'Foot/ 
(Eg.,) Pes, Ped-is (Lat.), Path (E?ig.)— E h e, 'An Ox/ 
Eheou, 'Oxen/ (Eg.,) Ych, Ych-en ( Welsh.)— Ma, < A Place/ 
(Eg.,) Ma (Welsh.) 



CHAPTER VI. 



<)\ THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. 



High Antiquity of the Chinese Empire and Remains discredited 
by Sir William Jones and Adelung. But the Differences 
between the Chinese Language and those of Western Asia 
more ancient than the peculiarities which distinguish the 
frican Langu m those of Europe and Western 

Asia. These Differences not fundamental. Identity of 
the ( 'hine.se with the Hebrew and with the English and 
Other European Languages, fyc. 

Adelung, liko Sir William Jones before him, quite dis- 
credits the supposed antiquity of the Chinese Empire and 
the claims set up by the Chinese to a high and ancient civili- 
zation. The Great Wall, said by their historians to have 
been built 240 years B.C., is not mentioned by early writers, 
especially Marco Polo, who visited China from the West 
in 1270. He regards the scientific knowledge of the Chinese 
as inferior to that of several adjoining nations, and Confucius's 
morality as nothing better than a medley of sound opinions, 
such as any man of strong sense might have compiled ! The 
materials of their paper are so frail that it is impossible any 
of their MSS. can be very ancient, and in the fidelity or 



148 THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. 

knowledge of their Transcribers he places no confidence ! 
Finally, he views the infantine character of their language, a 
feature in which the Chinese are inferior to the wildest 
American tribes, as forming in itself a proof of the absence 
of a high culture, to which, he maintains, it constitutes an 
almost insuperable obstacle. 

On the other hand, unfavorable as its characteristics are to 
the supposed antiquity and extent of their civilization, he 
nevertheless considers these very peculiarities of their lan- 
guage in the light of decisive proofs of the high antiquity of 
the Chinese nation, viewed simply as a distinct branch of the 
human race. 

In the last chapter were discussed the peculiarities of 
structure which distinguish the Egyptian and Semetic 
tongues from those of the Indo-European class ; peculiarities 
which were shown to consist, not in a fundamental difference 
of elements, but simply in various conventional arrangements 
of the same elements. This explanation will now be proved 
to apply also to the characteristics which distinguish the 
Chinese from the principal Asiatic and European languages, 
with this qualification however, that these characteristics, as 
contrasted with those of other classes of tongues, imply a 
separation from a parent stock at a much earlier era in the 
history of the human species than those which have been 
noticed in the last chapter, as distinguishing the Indo- 
European, Semetic, and Egyptian languages respectively. 

According to Adelung^s lucid analysis, the following are 
the principal steps by which language is formed. 1. The 
first words are vowels, or sounds produced simply by the 
opening of the mouth and the emission of the breath. 
2. Next in order are monosyllables, consisting of a vowel 
and a consonant preceding, as in P-a. 3. Arise mono- 
syllables, formed of a vowel between two or more consonants. 






THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. 149 

as in P-a-p. 4. Lastly are constructed polysyllabic words, 
formed by a combination into one word of two or more of the 
monosyllabic terms. 

The African, American,* European, and all the Asiatic 
languages, with the exception of those spoken in China and 
the contiguous countries of the south-west of Asia, display a 
consummation of all these four stages. The Chinese exhibits 
results of the first and second steps of the series only. In 
other words, the Chinese may be described not simply as a 
language purely monosyllabic, but as one in which the 
monosyllables are of the most elementary and infantine cha- 
racter, viz., those winch consist of one consonant and a vowel 
(as in Pa). They have no words which have a second con- 
sonant, as in P-A-P. 

Having no polysyllables, the Chinese supply their place 
by a minute variety in their vowel sounds. They have no 
grammar :f the same word is at once an adjective, a sub- 
stantive, and a verb ! Affixes and suffixes, such as occur in 
iri\ c\ giv-er, gif-t, are unknown. The modifications of mean- 
ing these forms convey are expressed either by altering the 
position of the words or by additional terms. The plural is 
the same as the singular ; though, to avoid obscurity, in 
extreme cases the clumsy expedient of repetition is resorted 
to, as in Tschin-tschin, ' Man-man ' (i. e. Men) ; or distinct 
words indicative of number are prefixed, such as Muen, 
'Many/ Tschung, ' All P 

It was the opinion of Adelung that the Chinese language 
differed not merely in its structure, but in its elements, from 
the other languages of the human race. He supposed this 
nation to have sprung from the same stock as those of wes- 

• The African languages (as far as they are known to us), and the American, 

irding to l)u Ponceau, are all polysyllabic. 
+ To (hi< rule, however, pronouns are an exception. 



150 THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. 

tern Asia. But their speech he conceives to have been 
constructed after the separation. 

The peculiar monosyllabic structure of the Chinese seems 
to justify the conclusion, that the nations of Europe and 
western Asia are more nearly allied in descent to the Negro 
tribes of the interior of Africa and to the Indian tribes of 
America than they are to the Chinese and the nations of the 
contiguous countries of the south-west of Asia. But that 
Adelung's conclusion, that the Chinese is a radically distinct 
tongue is an erroneous one will now be shown by examples, 
to which the peculiar structure of that language will only 
serve to give additional* force ; for while in most of the 
following examples the words compared are essentially the 
same, the Chinese monosyllables being identical with Hebrew 
or European monosyllables, or with terms which partake of 
that character, in other instances it will be found that the 
differences which occur have been caused solely by the 
addition of the characteristic suffixes and affixes of the poly- 
syllabic languages, which are not used in the Chinese ! Thus 
we have Mu, 'A Mouse/ (Chin.,) Mu-s, Mu-os, Mu (Greek), 
the root in the latter being the same as in the former ; Fo 
and Foo Tsin, 'A Fa-ther,' (Chin.,) Moo and Moo Tsin, 
'A Mo-ther/ (CAm.) 

I shall commence these examples with the Chinese pro- 
nouns, most of which are absolutely identical with those of 
the polysyllabic languages. This branch of the comparison 
will serve to place in a striking point of view the erroneous 
nature of the opinion generally received among philologists, 
that nations which agree are necessarily more nearly allied than 
those which differf in their grammatical forms, the Chinese 
being found in this respect to agree in an unequivocal man- 

* Numerous examples also occur 'in Appendix A. 

t Caeteris paribus, this is a correct view ; but not where grammatical resem- 
blances are treated as more important evidence than other resemblances. 



THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. 151 

ner with the kindred English and German, in some of those 
very points in which they mutually diner widely ! 

Pronouns of the First Person, { I' and ' We. 5 — Ngan, 
Ngoo Ngo, 'I' and ' We,' {Chinese.) I6nga, Egon, 'I,' 
{Greek.) 

Pronouns of the Second Person, ' Thou' and ' Ye.' — Irr, 
'Thou' and 'Ye/ (Chinese.) Ihr, 'Ye,' {German.) Yu, 
Yuh, 'Thou' and 'Ye,' {Chinese.) You, 'Ye,' {English.) 
Yd {Provincial English). Eoh [Anglo-Saxon), 'Ye.' Nee, 
Nai, Nyu, 'Thou' and 'Ye,' (Chinese.) Ne, 'You, 5 
[Mandans, a North American Tribe.) 

In these instances the English 'You' and the German 
' Ihr ' differ totally. Moreover, in each language separately 
considered the plural differs altogether from the singular, 
which id German is expressed by ' Du,' and in the English 
hv • Thou.' The Chinese, which uses these terms, 'Ihr' and 
*You,' conjointly and in both numbers, furnishes a satisfactory 
clue to these anomalies ! 

Pronouns of the Third Person.— E . e, 'He,' 'She,' 'It,' 

(( 'hinese.) E . ee . a, E . v . e, {Hebrew.) He, masculine, 

{English.) He, feminine, ( Welsh.)— Pee, 'He,' 'She,' 'It,' 

That,' {Chinese.) Phe, Ph, 'This,' 'That,' {Hebrew.) 

Pha or Pe, the article 'The,' {Egypt.) 



Specimens of Chinese Words, identical with equivalent Terms 
in the Languages of Europe and Western Asia, fyc. 

Keuen. 'A Dog,' {Chinese), Ku6n {Greek), Coun (Plural, 

Welsh), Can-is {Latin). — Ma, ' A Horse,' ( Chinese), Morin 

Mantschu), Ma-hre {German), Ma-re {English), Ma-rch 

Welsh.) — Mu, ' A Mouse,' {Chinese), Mu-s, Mu-os Mu 



152 THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. 

(Greek) , Mu-s (Latin.) — Lung,* ' A Wolf,' (Chinese), Lukon 
(Greek), Lloun-og, 'A Fox/ ( Welsh.) — Ioang, long, Io, 
'A Sheep/ (Chinese), Oin ( Greek), Oen, < A Lamb/ (TTeM), 
Oi, Ai, Yi (Irish.) 

Foo <A Father/ Moo 'A Mother/ also Fo6 Tsin <A 
Father/ and Moo Tsin ( A Mother/ Tsin means ' A Re- 
lation/ (Chinese.) The equivalent terms in the English and 
other Gothic dialects consist of the Chinese root, and a 
distinct suffix (answering the purpose of the separate Chinese 
word Tsin.) Fa-der (Anglo-Saxon), Fa-ther (English), 
Fa-ter (German), Mo-ther, (English), Mua-ter (Old high 
German.)f 

Nan and Yin, 'A Man/ (Chinese.) Ninetz, ■ Men/ then- 
national name, (Samoieds.) Ninnee Inin, s A Man,' (Algon- 
quyn Dialects of N. America.) 

Nan 'A Son/ (Chinese,) N.n [Parturio] (Heb.) — Neang, 
' A young Lady/ {Chinese,) Non ( Mantschu,) Nonn-us {Lat.,) 
Nun, « Tender/ (Chinese.) — Nyu, ' A Daughter/ (Chinese,) 
Nea, Feminine, c Young/ [Juvenis] {Greek,) New (Eng.) — 
Chan, ( To produce, bear/ (Chinese,) Gen-i (Welsh,) Genn-ao 
(Greek.) — Chuen, e A Boat, or Ship/ (Chinese,) Kahn (Ger.,) 
Cymba (Latin,) Kumbi (Greek.) 

Chuy, < To blow, The Breath/ (Chinese,) Chwa (Welsh.) 
— Fe, 'Fat/ (Chinese), Fe-tt (German,) Fa-t (English.)— Ho, 
'Fire/ (Chinese,) Ho-t (English.) These words Ho-t and 
Fe-tt seem to have been regularly formed as past participles 
from Ho and Fe, the roots preserved in the Chinese. — Hoo, 



* The occurrence of nasal sounds at the end of words, as in this instance, form 
an apparent exception to the principle that Chinese words consist simply of one 
consonant followed by a vowel. But these nasals Adelung states to be mere 
evanescent intonations. 

t Adelung, notwithstanding his opinion that the Chinese is a perfectly dis- 
tinct language, was struck with the analogy between 'Foo Tsin,' and -Moo 
Tsin/ and ' Fa-ther' and « Mo-ther.' 



THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. 153 

'To escort/ [Chinese,) Hii-ten (Ger.) — Fan, 'To subvert, 
Contrary/ [Chinese,) Ph.n.e, [To turn, turn out] [Hebrew,) 
Fun, 'To divide,' [Chinese,) Fun do, Fin do [Latin.) — Gan, 
'Favor/ [Chinese,) Gbnn-en, Gun-st [German,) Gynn a 
[Swedish,) c'H . n [Hebrew.) — Gaou, 'Proud/ [Chinese,) 
Ga, Ga . ou . e, Ga . ee . oun [Hebrew,) Gang ' Lofty/ Ge 
'The Forehead/ Ke 'To rise/ Ka.ou 'High/ [Chinese,) 
Ga* e, 'To rise, [Heb.) — Kang, 'More/ [Chinese,) Chwaneg 
(Welsh.) — Hae, 'A large River, The Sea/ [Chinese,) Aa 
(Icelandic,) Eia (Ang.-Sax.,) Wy ( Welsh.) — Heuen, 'To 
explain/ Heaou 'To understand,' Heo 'To learn/ [Chinese,) 
c'Hou . e 'To show, explain, declare, [Hebrew,) He-ar (Eng.) 
— Hw6, ' Living/ [Chinese,) c'Hee . a, E . ou . e [Hebrew.) — 
Kwae, 'Prompt, active/ (Chinese,) Chwae (Welsh.) — Kia 
'A Family/ Kiwo 'A Nation/ (Chinese,) Kiw (Welsh,) 
Goxi.e (Heb.) — Keen, 'To see/* (Chinese), Ken (English,) 
Kee, 'And/ (Chinese,) Kai (Greek and Algonquyn Tribes of 
V America,) King 'To respect/ (Chinese,) Kun-eo (Greek,) 
Kwan, 'Fatigued,' (Chin.,) Gwan (Welsh.) — Laou, 'Labour/ 
(Chinese,) La . e (Hebrew), La-bor (Latin.) — Mae, 'To buy/ 
(Chinese,) Emo (Latin.) — Lo, 'Green/ (Chinese,) L . c'he, 
(Hebreiv.) — Leo, ' Small/ Lu, (Irish,) Low (English.) — 
Miu'ii, 'Many/ (Chinese,) Many (English.) — Yaou Yo, 'To 
will, desire/ (Chinese,) Aeo (Greek,) Aveo (Lat.) — Meen, 'To 
dispose/ (Chinese,) M . n . e (Hebrew.) — Mien, 'The Face/ 
(Chinese,) Mine (French,) Mien (English.) — Pew, 'Spotted 
Tiger/ (Chinese,) Pie [Colour] (English,) Pei, ' To receive/ 
(Chinese,) Piai, 'To possess/ ( Welsh.)— Pin, * Poor/ Penu- 
ria (Latin.) — Sae, 'To agitate/ (Chinese,) Sway (English.)— 
Saou, 'A Brush/ (Chinese,) Shoue, 'To rub/ (Hebrew.)— 
Seun, 'To inspect/ (Chinese,) Sehen (German.) — Sha, 'To 

• It is observable, that as in the above instances of Heuen and Keen, the 
Chinese verbs very commonly terminate in a nasal n, as do those of the Persian 
aiui Teutonic. 



154 THE CHINESE LANGUAGE. 

kill/ {Chinese,) Sha . e {Hebrew.) — Shen, 'Good, Pious/ 
{Chinese,) Sanctus {Latin,) Shin, 'A Spirit, God,' {Chinese.) 
— Shing, 'To ascend/ {Chinese,) Scan-deo {Latin.) — Shwa, 
'To sport, Play/ {Chinese,) Sho sho {Hebrew,) Soo, 'To 
number/ {Chinese,) Shoue {Hebrew.) — Sung, 'To present to/ 
{Chinese,) Schenk-en {German.) — Sing, 'A Star/ {Chinese,) 
Schein-en, 'To shine/ {German,) Sun {English.) — Yun, 
'Fog, Cloud/ Ying, 'Shadow/ Wan, 'Evening/ {Chinese,) 
On . n, ' A Cloud, To cloud over/ {Hebrew.) — Wang, ' To 
hope/ {Chinese,) Chwannawg, 'Desirous/ {Welsh.) — We, 
'Taste/ {Chinese,) Chwae-th {Welsh.) 






CHAPTER VII. 

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 



Identity of the American Tribes with the Nations of the other 
Continents* High Mental and Moral qualities of the 
North American Indians. Views of Cooper, Du Ponceau, 
and Catlin. Clear nature of the proofs derivable from 
Language of the Identity of the N. A. Indians with the 
European and Asiatic Nations. Catlin s views as to the 
Idcntiti/ of the Mandans, a Tribe of N. A. Indians, with 
the Welsh. Union in the Dialects of the N. A. Indians, 
oj Grreek, and other Indo-European and Tartar Inflections, 
with the Pronouns of the Hebrew and the Welsh. Close 
Approximation of these Dialects to the Greek and other 
European Tongues, and to the Languages of the North 
of Europe and Asia. 

That the Tribes of the American Continent are descended 
from the same stock as the Asiatic and European nations is 
a proposition with respect to which the evidence contained 
in Appendix: A must, I conceive, be felt to be conclusive when 
combined with Dr. Prichard's proofs that the Physiology of 
the Human race in different countries is the result of climate 
and other external agencies. As regards the mental and 
moral qualities of the native American nations, there seems 
to be no solid ground for the inference maintained in some 



156 ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 

quarters that they are a different, because in these respects 
an inferior, race. It is impossible to peruse Mr. Catlin's 
living picture of the manners and social habits of the North 
American Indians without being deeply impressed with the 
conviction that these Tribes, both intellectually and morally, 
are as highly gifted by nature as those nations who have in- 
herited the blessings of a refined civilization. That the same 
remark applies to the more Southern American populations, 
such as the Mexicans and Peruvians, may be shown by an 
appeal to numerous considerations. In this place, however, 
I shall confine my observations to the Septs generally termed 
North American Indians, the original inhabitants of the 
United States and the regions in the same latitude. This 
race of men has been thus described in a celebrated work of 
fiction, which owes its chief interest to the vivid portraiture 
it exhibits of Indian life and manners.* 

"It is generally believed that the Aborigines of the 
" American continent have had an Asiatic origin. There are 
" many physical as well as moral facts which corroborate this 
" opinion, and some few that would seem to weigh against it. 

" The colour of the Indian, the writer believes, is peculiar 
" to himself, and while his cheek-bones have a very striking 
"indication of a Tartar origin, his eyes have not. Climate 
" may have had great influence on the former, but it is diffi- 
" cult to see how it can have produced the substantial dif- 
ference which exists in the latter. The imagery of the 
" Indian, both in his poetry and his oratory, is Oriental, 
K chastened, and perhaps improved, by the limited range of 
" his practical knowledge. He draws his metaphors from 
" the clouds, the seasons, the birds, the beasts, and the vege- 
" table world. In this, perhaps, he does no more than any 
" other energetic and imaginative race would do, being com- 

* Cooped Last of the Mohicans. 



ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 157 

" pelled to set bounds to his fancy by experience ; but the 
" North American Indian clothes his ideas in a dress that is 
u so different from that of the African for instance, and so 
" Oriental in itself as to be remarked. His language, too, 
" has the richness and sententious fulness of the Chinese. 
" He will express a phrase in a word, and he will qualify the 
" meaning of an entire sentence by a syllable ; he will even 
u convey different significations by the simplest inflections of 
" the voice. 

" Philologists who have devoted much time to the study, 
" have said that there were but two or three languages, pro- 
" perly speaking, among all the numerous tribes which for- 
" merly occupied the country that now composes the United 
" States. They ascribe the known difficulty one people have 
" in understanding one another to corruptions and dialects. 

u The writer remembers to have been present at an inter- 
" view between two chiefs of the Great Prairies west of the 
" Mississippi, and when an interpreter was in attendance 
u who spoke both their languages. The warriors appeared 
" to be on the most friendly terms, and seemingly conversed 
" much together, yet, according to the account of the inter- 
" preter, each was absolutely ignorant of what the other said. 
" They were of hostile tribes, brought together by the influ- 
u ence of the American Government ; and it is worthy of re- 
" mark that a common policy led them both to adopt the 
u same subject. They mutually exhorted each other to be of 
" use in the event of the chance of war throwing either of the 
u parties into the hands of his enemies. Whatever may be 
u the truth, as respects the root and the genius of the Indian 
u tongues, it is quite certain they are now so distinct in their 
" words as to possess most of the disadvantages of strange 
" languages ; hence much of the embarrassment that has 
" arisen in learning their histories, and most of the uncer- 
tainty which exists in their traditions." 



158 ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 

The traits of character embodied in this passage are not 
those of an inferior, but of a highly acute and imaginative 
race! 

The Philological objections to the proposition that the 
North American Tribes are of Asiatic origin have by many 
writers been regarded as insuperable. Du Ponceau, who has 
given profound attention to the subject, dwells, 1, On the dif- 
ferences in words among the American languages themselves ; 
2, On the failure which he imputes to those writers who have 
attempted to identify the Indians with some one individual 
Asiatic nation, as the Chinese, the Tartars, or the Jews, &c. ; 
and 3, On the differences in the Grammars of the North 
American dialects and those of the languages of the Old 
World, which he treats as a conclusive refutation of all argu- 
ments in favour of original unity ! Mr. Catlin also lays 
great stress on the first of these considerations, viz. the great 
differences he found in the words of the dialects of the Tribes 
he visited. 

To every one of these objections the general principles de- 
veloped in the previous pages will be found to involve a 
complete answer. 1 . The differences apparently fundamental 
in the words of American languages may be accounted for in 
the same manner as similar differences in the languages of 
the old world (the Gothic and Celtic for example,) have 
already been explained, viz. by the tendency to abandon dif- 
ferent synonymes. 2. That attempts to prove a close specific 
relation between the North American dialects and any one 
Asiatic language, such as the Chinese or the Hebrew, should 
have failed, was to be expected as a consequence of the same 
tendency. 3. Finally, differences of Grammar have been 
shown to be fallacious evidence viewed separately and without 
due regard to other features of language.* Moreover, it will 

* See chapter on the Chinese. 



ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 159 

presently appear clearly that, even as regards the Grammar 
of the Indian Dialects, Du Ponceau's impressions can be 
distinctly proved to be erroneous, an extended comparison 
serving to render manifest the interesting fact that, as re- 
spects the elements of Grammar, these dialects perfectly agree 
with the Asiatic and European languages, while in the 
mode of combining those elements, they do not differ from 
those languages more widely than the latter differ among 
themselves. 

If the ancestors of the American Indians emigrated at a 
remote period from the opposite Asiatic Coasts, we have no 
right to anticipate in their dialects a complete conformity to 
any one language of the old world, but general and varying 
features of resemblance to several. The kindred dialects of 
the same Continent after the lapse of a considerable time do 
not exhibit any other kind of resemblance ! Now this is the 
species of relation which the North American Indian dialects 
actually display when compared to the Languages of the Old 
World! 

The chief examples which I have selected as illustrations 
of this proposition have been taken from the Algonquyn 
dialects, the very class examined by Du Ponceau himself, to 
which I have added a few corroborative instances from those 
of the tribes of the regions to the west of the Mississippi which 
have been lately described by Mr. Catlin. The dialects 
termed Algonquyn by Du Ponceau were formerly spoken by 
numerous tribes who, though not the sole inhabitants, were 
originally spread through the whole of the present territory 
of the United States, including the "Lenni Lenape, the 
Ci Chippeways," and other powerful septs. 

With regard to this class of Indian Dialects I propose to 
show: 1. That as regards Words they bear a close resem- 
blance to a great variety of Asiatic and European languages. 
2. That their grammatical peculiarities, in like manner, com- 



160 ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 

bine those of various languages of the Old World, as in the 
instance of their Verbs and Pronouns, in which the inflections 
of the Greek and other Indo-European Tongues are found 
united with separate Pronouns identical with those common 
to the Welsh on the one hand and the Hebrew and its 
kindred Semetic dialects on the other. 



Words from the North American Indian Dialects of the 
Algonquyn Class compared with analogous Terms in 
Asiatic and European Languages. 

Man ittou, 'The Deity, a Spirit,' (bid.,*) Mouno he ka, 
' Ghosts/ (Ma?ida?i,f) Manes, 'The Spirits of the Dead,' 
(Latin,) Manus, 'The Mind/ (Sanscrit,) Men, 'The Mind,' 
(Greek,) Mens, Ment-is (Latin), Pata-maw-os, 'The Deity/ 
from Pata-maw-an, 'To adore/ (bid.,) Poth-emenai, 'To 
seek, or pray to/ (Doric,) for Poth-ein (Greek), Peton, 'To 
worship/ Peta, 'A Prayer/ (Old High German,) Bet-en, 
Bitte (German)-, see, as to W iou and Nioueskou, two re- 
markable words for ' The Deity/ (bid.,) pages 22, 23, 24. 
For names of the Heavenly Bodies, see Appendix A. 

' Father/ Ooch, Oss {Ltd.), Ozha (Sclavon.), Otze (Dal- 
matian) y Wosch (Lusatian), Otzie (Bohemian), Nosa (bid.), 
Niza, Niesee (Samoieds). 

'Mother/ Anna (Ind.), Ana (Turkish), Anya (Hungarian), 
Nanna (Ind.), Nain J (Welsh), Ninge (Ind.), Naing (Irish), 
Nik, Nekaoui [Ind.), N . k . be § (Hebrew). 

'A Woman/ Panum, Phanem (bid.), Banen (Cornish), 
Been ( Welsh), Pin, ■ A Female/ applied to animals, ( Chinese.) 

* Ind. means N. A. Indian. This term (Ind.) is used here exclusively to 
distinguish words from the dialects of the Algonquyn class, 
f A Western Tribe visited by Mr. Catlin. 
% Nain (Welsh) Grandmother. $ < A Woman.' See Parkhurst'* Lex. 






ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 161 

< A Girl/ Kan-isswah (hid.), Gen eez (Pers.), Nunk-shoue, 
Nunk* (Ind.), Neang [Chin.), Non (Mantschu). 

' Husband/ Nap-e, Nap eem {Ind.), Nub-o, Nuptise (Lett.), 
Nuptials (Eng.)—' Husband/ Weew-ehsa, Wasuk (Ind.), 
< Wife/ Weewo, Weowika {Ind.), ' Marriage/ Wiwaha 
(Sanscrit), Wife (Eng.) 

<A little Child/ Awusk, 'Awash ish (Ind.), 'A Child/ 
Watsah (Sanscrit), ' Young,' Wuski (Ind.), 'A Youth/ Was 
or Gwas (Welsh). 

'High/ Hockunk (Ind.), Hoch, Hbhe, Hoheit (German), 
High, Height (Eng.), Hitke 1 (Iroquois). 

'The Earth/ Hacki, Ki, Ackour (Ind.), Ge (Greek), 
Ager (Latin), Agr-os (Greek). 

' Foot/ Sit (Ind.), St . o, 'I stand/ (Latin). 

'Good/ Wuilit (Ind.), Wohl (tfer.), Weal, Well, Wealth 
( Eng.), Ee . o . 1, ' To profit, benefit/ (Hebrew). 

'To fight/ Pachg-amenJ (Ind.), P.g.ee (Heb.), Pug-no 
(Latin). 

'To give/ Mekan (Ind.), M . gn (Hebrew). 

'Night,' Nukon (hid.), Nux (Greek), Nox (Latin), Noc 
(Polish), Noc (Hungarian). 

1 Blood/ M'huk, Mokum (Ind.), Mucum, Mucus (Latin). 

'Cold/ Kisina (Ind.), Kuisne, 'Ice/ (Irish,) K . sh . a, 
'To harden, stiffen/ 'A Cucumber,§ from its cooling pro- 
perties/ (Hebrew). 

'Sleep/ Nipu, Nip-awin, ' To sleep/ Nupp (Ind.), Nap 
(Eng.), Hup-nos (Greek), Nim pamino, 'I sleep/ (Ind.), 
N . m ., N . ou . m . e (Hebrew). 



* Nunk (Indian) mean* ' Young.' 

t This word is from the dialects of the Iroquois, another class of Indian Tribes, 
who inhabited the present territory of the United States. 

I ' War,' Aguwarrie, in the Iroquois dialects, Gewehr {German), Guerre 
{French), War {English). 

§ Parkhur<t. 

11 



162 ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 

' To touch/ Aman damaog-an (Ltd.), Man-us (Latin). 

'Man,' Nin (bid.), Ninetz 'Men/ (Samoieds,) a diminu- 
tive race in the North-east of Asia. The national name they 
have given to themselves is the above word, Ninetz 'Men.' 

I shall add a few further illustrations from the specimens 
of the languages of the Indian Tribes to the West of the 
United States, which have been published by Mr. Catlin. 

' Spirits, Ghosts,' Mouno he ka (Mandan,) — and see 
above, Manitto, 'A Spirit/ (hid.) — Manes, ' The Spirits of 
the Dead,' (Latin). 

'Bad/ Khe cush (Mandan), Kakos (Greek). 

'A Bear/ Mah to (Mandan), Matto (Sioux), Medve 
(Hungarian), Medvid (Sclavonian), Metzwetz (Lusatian), 
Koonoghk (Riccaree), Chiung (Chinese). 

' Dog/ Shonka (Riccaree), Shunah (Sanscrit), Shun 
(Armenian), A meeteh (Blackfeet), Meda (Taraikai, Xorth- 
east of Asia), Madaidh (Irish). 

'A Raven,' Kaka (Mandan), To kah ka (Riccaree), Kaka 
(Sanscrit). 

'River/ Pass ahah (Mandan). See Appendix A. p. 78. 

'Ears,' Ookah nay* (Tuskaroras) , Ucho (Sclavonian), 
Ochtowaga (Shawannos), Ohto kiss (Blackfeet), Ota 
(Greek.) See p. 73, Appendix A. 

' Hand/ Onka (Mandan.) See Appendix, page 69. 
Ohahna (Tuskaroras.) See Appendix, p. 68. 

'Head/ Otahra (Tuskaroras), Otri (Ashantees Xegroes), 
Utieri (Aminas Negroes.) 

'Nose/ Pahoo (Mandan), Pei Pi (Chinese), Pah . soo 
[Sioux), Ph.o.e, 'To Breathe/ (Hebrew), Phusa-o, * To 
Breathe/ (Greek.) 

* Nakoba (Mandan), Xoh gee ySiot/x). 



ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 163 

Want of space, and the extensive nature of the evidence 
contained in Appendix A, alone deter me from greatly 
multiplying these examples. 

2. As regards Grammatical forms : 

Nothing can be more erroneous than the inference that 
the North American Indian dialects differ in this respect 
from those of Asia and Europe. In the previous comparison 
numerous examples present themselves in which the same 
words unequivocally exhibit at once both the roots and the 
inflections of words belonging to the languages termed Indo- 
European, as in Putam-awatt, Patam-awos, Kis-ina, M. huk, 
Mole-urn, Khe-cush, \ imp-ammo, &c. ! 

These are not isolated instances. I do not hesitate to 
affirm that it may be shown by means of the very terms he 
has selected for examination, that those North American 
Indian dialects which Du Ponceau has analyzed, abound in 
similar examples ! That the same remark is true with regard 
to the dialects of the Western Tribes described by Mr. Catlin, 
is ;t proposition which will now be illustrated in a remarkable 
instance ! 

Among the tribes with whom he resided this writer has 
especially noticed a highly interesting sept, the Mandans, in 
whose dialect he has pointed out a variety of instances of 
close resemblance to the Welsh, which he has left to the 
judgment of those who are conversant with that language. 
On this subject I conceive there cannot be any difference of 
opinion among those who are vernacularly acquainted with 
the venerable tongue of the Cymry. Of the Mandan terms 
selected by Mr. Catlin (which are subjoined below), the 
majority must be admitted to present plain and unequivocal 
features of resemblance, or rather of identity, to the equivalent 
Welsh terms. 



164 



ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 



Now, it will be seen that of these* examples of affinity the 
greater number consist of terms which belong exclusively to 
the province of Grammar ! 









OTHER ASIATIC AND ECROPEAN 


ENGLISH. 


MANDAN. 


WELSH. 


LAXG CAGES. 


I. 


Me. 


Me. 


Me (Latin and Eng.), Eme 
( Greek.) 


You. 


Ne. 


Chwe. 


Nee, (Chinese.) 


He. 


E. 


E. 


E.ee .a, E.ou.e, or E.v.e, 
< He, She, It,' ( Heb.) 


She. 


Ea. 


E, Hee. 


Ea, 'She,' (Latin.) 


It. 


Ount. 


Hooynt, 'They' 
(Plural.)f 


Onuh, 'It, Him, Her,' 
(Turkish.) 


They. 


Eonab, (Onuh 




E.n.e, 'They,' (Hebreir), 




ha, Honuh 


Nhou, 'They,' 


Oona, ' They,' also « He, 




ha, 'They,' 


Hyny, ' Those.' 


She, It,' (Mixed Indian 




Iroquois Dia- 




Dialects of Asia.) 




lects.) 




Ainah, Ont, Ent, (Endings 
of the third person plural 
<f Indo- European I ~erbs.)\ 


We. 


Noo. 




Noi (Greek), Nou, Nc'hnou 






Nee. 


(Hebrew.) 


No, or, There 


Megosh.§ 


Nagoes, Nage. 




is not. 








Head. 


Pan. 


Pen. 




The Great Spi- 


Maho peneta. 


Mawr|| Penae- 




rit. 




ther Yysprid 
Mawr. 





* They are chiefly composed of Pronouns, terms which form the I 
Grammar. 

t Hooynt does not mean 'It' in Welsh. In that language it is a plural and not 
a singular, as Mr. Catlin supposes. This circumstance, however, does not render 
the example less relevant, "Hooynt" (JVelsIt) being clearly identical with the 
terms from the Mandan, Turkish, &c, with which it is compared above; for 
pronouns, singular and plural, were originally the same words as they still are in 
all cases in the Chinese, and in several instances in the above examples. 

% Dr. Prichard, Eastern Origin of Celts, p. 134. 

§ This is an erroneous example, I conceive. " Megosh " is also a questionable 
one. 

|| Dr. Prichard, Eastern Origin of Celts. 



ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 165 

By some of our countrymen it has been sanguinely main- 
tained that the descendants of a body of Welsh, who left 
their country under Prince Madoc in the twelfth century, 
may be still traced by affinities of language among the 
North American Indian Tribes. Struck by the resemblances 
he has detected, Mr. Catlin has been led to favour the same 
conclusion, and to suggest that the Mandans may probably 
be shown to be the descendants of the lost Cambrian Colony ! 

But the examples selected by this writer, however creditable 
to his accuracy and research, do not tend, as he suggests, to 
prove the existence of a specific connexion between the Welsh 
and the Mandans I This will be evident from the words con- 
tained in the right-hand column (which have been added by 
the author of this work). An examination of the whole com- 
parison will serve to >how clearly, that though in most of the 
instances he has notice o" tin- resemblance displayed by the 
Mandan to the \Yel>h is a close one, in many of them it dis- 
an equally elose affinity to the Latin and Greek, &c, 
while in some — this North American Indian dialect totally 
differs from the Welsh tongue, and at the same time agrees 
with — other languages of the Old World. Many of those ex- 
amples which precede the Comparison are also illustrations 
of the principle that the Mandan, like other North American 
Indian dialects, exhibits a general resemblance to all, and 
not a speeitie relation to anyone of the Asiatic and European 
tongues. Thus Khecush, c Bad/ which is identical with the 
Greek, but is totally unlike the Welsh, is a Mandan word ! 

The prevalent theory, that there exists a group of Indo- 
European languages and nations — peculiarly connected among 
themselves — peculiarly isolated from others — will, T conceive, 
be found to be fallacious ; and what is highly remarkable, 
distinct proofs of its fallacy, as will presently be seen, are 
derivable from the dialects of the North American Tribes ! 

11 § 



166 ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 

The writers by whom this theory has been maintained have 
overlooked, on the one hand, the numerous points of resem- 
blance which connect the Indo-European languages with 
other Tongues; while, on the other hand, they have also 
overlooked the numerous points of difference which they mu- 
tually display. On a close investigation it will be evident 
that it is only in the basis of their Grammars that any of the 
ancient languages of Asia and Europe, even those which are 
very nearly related, agree ; they do not display an identity of 
Grammatical forms ! Compare, for example, the inflections 
of the Verbs in the Latin and the Greek, and the numerous 
points of difference which they exhibit in almost every tense, 
combined with mere partial coincidences. That these re- 
marks are equally true of the relation displayed by the North 
American Indian dialects compared to those of the Old 
World will be apparent from the following examples, in which 
it will be manifest that these dialects in their basis agree 
with, and in their inflections and details only partially differ 
from, the Asiatic and European languages ! 

Present Tense of a Verb in two Dialects of the 
Algonquyn Class. 

'CHIPPEWAY' DIALECT. ' LEWI LENAPe' DIALECT. 

(Root) Nond— 'Understand/ (Root) Pend—' Understand.'* 



Singular. 




Singular. 


N> - nond - 
i I understand/ 


OM. 


N 1 - pend - amen 
•I understand.' 



K' - nond - om. K' - pend - amen. 

( Thou understand-est/ < Thou understand - est/ 



Nond - om. — _ Pend 



amen. 



i He understand - s/ ' He understand - $.' 

* Compare Pemt-o [Latin). 



ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 167 

Plural. Plural 

N' - nond - am-in. N' - pend - amen-een. 

< We understand.' We understand.' 

K' - nond - am. * K' - pend- am-ohumo. 

* Ye understand/ c Ye understand/ 

— - Nond - UM-oG- — - Pend - amen-owo. 

' They understand.' ' They understand/ 

It will be observed that the inflections of the Algonquyn 
Verb, indicative of persons (corresponding to those in Leg-o, 
Leg-is, Leg-it, Latin), are ' Om and Amen/ In another 
form of the Algonquyn Veil), * Amo' is also used. 

These forms, ( Om, Amo, Amen,' are the common inflec- 
tions of the first person in all the Indo-European languages. 
Dr. Prichard on the Eastern Origin of the Celtic 
Nations, pp. 130, 136.) In the North American Indian 
dialects it will be seen that they occur in all the three 
persons. There are instances of the same kind in the Indo- 
European Tongues for the Doric Greek Infinitive as in Poth- 
emeii-ai, 'To desire,' and the Greek Passive Participle as in 
Tupt-omen-os, Tupt-omen e, 'Struck,' are examples of the 
application of ' Amen or Omen' to any individual of the 
Human Race, in other words, to alt the three persons ! 

This inflection ' Amen 3 exists in the Tartar dialects in the 
first person, as in Bol-amen, ' I am,' Bol-asin, f Thou art,' &c. 

The following are examples of its use for the first person 
in the Greek : 

Singular. Plural. 

Amen, used as an Inflection Amen, used as an Inflection 

for 'I.' for c We.' 

E-fiipt-diCENj ' I was struck.' Tupt-oyiEN, 'We strike.' 

Tupt-oi-M*!*, * Would that I 
were struck.' 

n.I had been.' E-MEN, ' We were.' 



168 ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 

These examples will serve to illustrate the proposition 
that in inflections and other grammatical details the North 
American Indian dialects partially coincide with individual 
Indo-European languages in the same manner as those lan- 
guages partially agree among themselves ! It remains to be 
pointed out that where these two groups of tongues differ, 
the differences are such as time might have produced, and 
that they have the same basis in common. 

( Om, Amo, Amen,' are according to Dr. Prichard, pro- 
nouns confused with the verb. It is an interesting fact, 
that c Amo'* is actually used as the separate pronoun of the 
third person * He 5 in the dialect of the ' Blackfeet/ one of 
the N. American Indian Tribes to the west of the Mississippi 
visited by Mr. Catlin ! Now, as all pronouns were originallyf 
nouns, names for a * Human Being/ (see p. 13,) words of this 
class must have been in the first instance applied indifferently 
to all the three Persons. But in the course of time — 1 , In some 
languages different nouns were appropriated to different Per- 
sons, — the most common noun being applied to the First ; 
(this accounts for the occurrence of f Amo Om Amen/ probably 
forms of the most primitive J noun — in the first Person of the 
Indo-European languages !) — 2, In other tongues supple- 
mentary pronouns were used to mark the requisite distinction 
of Persons, the most common nouns being still used agree- 



* Many of those differences displayed by the North American Indian languages 
among themselves, and as compared to those of Asia, which have been assumed by 
many writers to be fundamental, consist of mere transitions of application agreeably 
to Home Tooke's principles ; terms which appear as pronoun inflections in one 
dialect, occurring as pronouns, or as words for • Man' in others, d-c. Thus we 
have Rauha pronoun of the third person ' He' (Iroquois.) Rehoje, ' Man Homo,' 
(Tarahumarati.) R.ch.e, Rou .e, * Life, Soul, Spirit, Breath,' (Hebreic and 
Arabic.) 

t As to the identity of these inflections, « Om, Amo, Amen,' with pronouns 
and nouns. (See Appendix A, pp. 53-4.) 

X These terms seem to consist of the first essays of the organs of articulation. 
(See p. 105.) 






ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 169 

ably to previous habit,— (though no longer of practical ser- 
vice)— in combination with the verb ; (this is the case in the 
Algonquyn dialects in which the same inflection is repeated 
in all the three persons, and the requisite distinction of persons 
is made by means of pronoun prefixes or supplementary pro- 
nouns, a distinction which, in the Greek, &c, is made by 
varying the final inflections or original pronouns, as in 
1 Tupt-oi-men, Tupt-oi-o/ &c.)* 

The pronoun prefixes of these North American Indian 
dialects, which as previously intimated, are common to the 
Welsh and the Hebrew, and other S emetic tongues remain 
to be noticed. 

Algonquyn Pronoun Prefixes. 
(See previous specimens of Algonquyn Verbs.) 

N 5 - P and < We.' 

This is an abbreviated form used in conjunction with the 
verb as a prefix. The pronoun in full is Ni Nin ' 1/ Ninou 
' We.' Both the pronoun itself and the abbreviated form in 
which it is used as a prefix, occur in the Hebrew in which 
the latter is used as a suffix ! 

This Algonquyn pronoun is identical with an Algonquyn 
word for 'A Man,' which, it will be observed, renders the 
proofs of affinity between the Semetic and Algonquyn dialects 
in this instance complete. 

• Ki-nondonim-i, * 1/ or * We understand you,' (Algonquyn dialects.) 
Compare Einii, Tupt-oi-mi, (fee. {Greek.) Bha va-mi (Sans.) &c. 
Compare ' Amo,' with 'I Am/ (EngUah y )&c. 



170 



ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 



ALGONQUYN. 


SEMETIC. 


WELSH. 


' Man.' 


1 1,' or ■ Me.' 


1 1,' or * Me.' 


Anini.* 


A . nee, (Heb.) 
A . n . a, (Arabic.) 


Innai. 


Iui. 


... 


Innai. 


N-nin. 






« T,' or < Me.' 






Nin. 






Ni.f 


Nee, (/fci.) 




N\ 






'We.' 


' We.' 
A . n. ou, 


' We.' 




A . n . c'h . n . ou, 


Ni. 


Nin-ou. 


N.c'h.n.ou, (Heb.) 


Nyni. 


Nin-owin. 


N.h.h.n, (Arabic.) 


Nyninnou. 


N'. 







K> 5 'Thou' and <Ye.' + 

This is also an abbreviation, the Pronoun in full is Ki, 
K-in, K-il, ' Thou f Kin-owa, and Kil-ou, ' Ye.' 



ALGONQUYN. 




SEMETIC. 




WELSH. 


< Thou, Thine.' 


« 


Thee, 


Thy.' 






K'. 
Kee. 


C . ee. 




(Heb.) 
(Heb.) 






' Ye, Yours.' 










' Yt. 


K'. 
Ki. 

Ki-nowa. 

Kil-ou. 


C-oun. 

C-n. 

C-m. 




(Chald.) 
(Heb.) 


Chwi. 





* See Appendix A, p. 56, for the origin of this word, 
t Ni, 'I,' (Basque.^ 

I This Pronoun does not occur in any Indo-European language except the 
Welsh. The Pronoun of the first person occurs in a modified form in the Greek. 






ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 171 

Du Ponceau notices another grammatical feature in which 
it is clear, though he was unconscious of that fact, that these 
North American Indian dialects form a connecting link be- 
tween the Semetic and Indo-European languages. "We 
u find," he observes, " many Nouns substantive with M pre- 
" fixed in such a way as to form an integral part of the 
" words." 

This is a Semetic mode of forming a Noun from a Root ! 
In Latin, Nouns are formed from Roots by the same Letter 
placed at the end of words, as in Regn-um, a mode of which 
we have also had an example in the Algonquyn dialects, in the 
words M'-huk, Mok-um ! 

Where lon^r intervals of time have elapsed, it is in all cases 
difficult to discriminate between the proofs of a general and 
remote, and those of a near and specific relation. Still I 
conceive the previous examples tend, in some measure, to 
render it probable that there is a closer affinity between the 
North American Indians and the inhabitants of Northern 
Asia and of Europe, especially the Russians, Hungarians, 
and other nations located in its Northern and Western 
Regions, than exists between these American Septs and the 
inhabitants of Southern Asia. Should this proposition be 
confirmed by further investigation, it will be found to be in 
unison with Adelung's conclusion, that the route by which 
the first Colonists of Europe came from Central Asia lay 
through the Steppes which separate the Chinese and Russian 
Empires. The Nomade Hordes of these vast plains, — the 
great c Officina Gentium/ — were probably the parent Septs 
of all or most of the European nations on the one hand, and 
of the populations of the North-east of Asia and of the oppo- 
site American coasts on the other ! 



172 ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN TRIBES. 

Of the general proposition, that the American Tribes and 
the Nations of the Old World are descended from the same 
Parent Stock, I conceive the evidence adduced in the pre- 
vious pages will be deemed to be conclusive. 



APPENDIX A. 



ANALYTICAL COMPARISON 



OF SOME OF THE 



MOST IMPORTANT WORDS IN THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 
WITH THE ANALOGOUS WORDS 

IX THE 

LANGUAGES OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



This Comparison inll srrve to show : 

1. The connexion between the Languages of the Negro population 

of the Middle of Africa with those of the races in the 
North and South of Africa who differ from the Negroes in 
Physiognomy, Colour, and other Physical qualities. 

2. The connexion between the Languages of every part of Africa 

with those of Asia, Europe, and America. 

3. The fundamental identity of the Languages of the four great 

divisions of the Globe. 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc. | Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Oue ini 

and 
Ouoini, Luminary Efful- 
gence. [Probably con- 
nected with ( Ooh' 
Glory, 'Eoohu' Day.] 
(Egyptian.) 

R . Ou oein, to diffuse 
Light, [Illuminare.] 
(Egypt.) 



Roongeh, 'Sun.' : 



Ra, Re, Sun. (Egypt.) 



I mine, ' Day. 5 



H o r, ' Horns,' the God H uer, Day. 
of Day. (Egypt.) 

Horambe, Moon. 



* The names for the Sun, Moon, and the Eye, are generally from the same roots. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



. een . n, Eye. (Heb.) 

W ang, ' Light emitted 
from a body.' (Chinese.) 



Wawn or Gwawn, 'A 
quick darting of rays, 
(Dr. Owen Pughe's 
Diet.) The Dawn.' 

(Welsh.) 



Ee.ou.m'Day,' (Heb.) 
[Probably from ' Eoohu' 
Day, (Egyptian,) and 
the suffix 'M,' which 
in Hebrew forms nouns 
from roots, like the 
English suffix 'er' in 
Mak-<?r.*] 



A rou, Behold! (Chald.) 
R . a . e, to see. (Heb.) 



Ur, Fire, (Kurd.) H u r, 
Fire, and Or, Day. 
(Armenian.) 

Huere, Sun. (Zend.) 



A . ou . r, Light, Daylight. 
(Heb. & Chaldce.) 

Arpi, Sun. (Armenian.) 



Em ee . n 'Day.' (Greek.) 

Ora-6, to see. (Greek.) 

Re, Moon, Re alt, Star. 
(Irish.) 



Ur-o. 



(Latin.) 



Hora, Time, (Greek,) an 
Hour, (Latin.) 

Aurora, the Dawn. 

(Latin.) 



Uru, Day. 

(Aymarans, S. A.) 



Huarassi, Sun and Day. 
(Omaguans, S. A.) 



* Compare the unsatisfactory Etymology of Ee . ou . m, , usually adoptee lb, ^Hebrew 
lexicographers, from E . m, Tumult, because there is "a tumultuous agitation of the 
celestial fluid,'' at daybreak . 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc.\ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Wurabe, Day. {Nubia.) 



Re, the Sun, as above. 



Iri, ' Eye.' * The symbol 
of Osiris, the God of 
Day. 



Iris, the Dawn. (Egypt.) 

Wurrhy, 'Moon/ 

(Abyss.) 

[Compare Wurabe, 'Day,' 

above. (Nubian.) 



K a mmer, 
Ungmar, Moon. 



Iirri, ' Sun. 



Uhaaire, andYer, Oloon. 



La, 'Fire.' 



Leaw, ' Fire. 



• This is an important word, as being one of the instances adduced by Dr. Leipsius, in 
opposition to Champollion's opinion, that the modern Coptic is perfectly identical with the 
ancient Egyptian. This word, Iri, ' an Eye,' and its signification, are onlv known to ns 
through Plutarch. The term is obsolete in the Coptic— Leipsius, " Lettre" a Rossellini."' 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Or, Day. {Armenian.) 

A.ou.r, Light, &c, as 
above ; 

Also with m prefix — 
M . A . ou . r, An instru- 
ment or source of Light, 
applied to the Sun and 
Moon. (Heb.) 

Mihira, Sun. (Sa?iscrit.) 

Mar, Sun. (Abassian.) 

N. Mar, Sun. (Afghan.) 



Iru, Sun. (Korea.) 



Eiere, Day. (Zend.) 

[Compare Yere, Moon, 
(Samoied) below.] 



Wurra, Moon. 

(Sumbava.) 

Win, Yere, and Irri, 

Moon. (Samoied.) 



Wawr, or Gwawr, the 
Dawn. (Welsh.) 

Awringo, Sun. (Finnish.) 



Ourhenha, Day. 

(Hurons, N. A.) 



Iris, the Rainbow. 

(Latin.) 



Lohe, ' Flame.' 

Lo-dern, ' To Burn.' 

(German.) 



Hello, Fire. 

(Runsienes, N. A.) 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc.\ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, 


Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, H 


eaven 




Lo, <Day.' 


- 


Lp s h, ' Flame.' 




Lelaffu, 'Fire.' 


Lopsh, ' To Burn.' 

(Egypt.) 


- 


- _ 






Leetshaatsi, ' Sun.' 




Lataa, ' Sun.' [See Lo, 
La, above.] 






La, 'Fire/ Lo, 'Day/ 
as above. 


Le aw, Fire, as above- 
Also 
Lilo, Fire.* 




Lelegh, Day. 


- 




Elukwee, Heaven. 


- 




See Lelegh, 'Day,' as 
above. 


- 



Mu lilo, Um lilo, also occur as words for Fire, in the South of Africa. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Hallo Alio, a Day. 

(Corea.) 



L . e . b . e, ' Flame.' 

L . e . b, 'To burn.' 

(Hebreiv.) 

L.et, ' Flame,' 'To 
flame, burn.' (Heb.) 



L05 and La, f Day.' 

(Irish.) 



Licht. 
Light. 



(German.) 
(English.) 



Olo, Sun and Day. 

(Vilellam, S.A.) 



Hallo Alo, a Day. 

(Coriac.) 



Lo-dern, ' To burn.' 

(German.) 
[See Lobe, above.] 



Olo, Sun and Day. 

(Vilellans, S. A.) 



Ele le dun, Flame. 



Lux, Light. (Latin.) 
Licht. (German.) 

Lluched, Lightning. 

(Welsh.) 



•) 



Uolok, Day. (Esquim.) 

El eek, (Nootka Sound,) 
and Hello, Fire, (Run- 
sienes, N. A.) 

Ali-gega, Sun. (M.Bay a, 
extreme south of S. A.) 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, ^c.[ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Liklo, Ames-ligo, ' An 
Eye.' 



Eli-ang, the Sun. 



Eli-ang, the Sun, as 
above. 



Lelangu, Sun. 



Lainch, and Lainghitsi, 
Heaven. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AFRICA. 



Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Lochatai, * He sees.' 

(Sanscrit.) 



E . 1 . To shine. E . 1 . 1 . 
To shine brightly. 

E . ee . 1 . 1 . Lucifer. 

{Hebrew.) 

Hailih, and Hailihs, the 
Sun. (Sanscrit.) 



Hallo, Alo, a Day. 

(Coriac.) 
Ali, Day. (Mbluccan.) 



Alak, a Stai 



Alagon, a Star. 
(Kotowskians, N. Asia.) 

Lun, Day. 

(Sirjanian fy Permian.) 

Languin, Heaven. (Mo- 
luccas,.) [Also, in the 
same language, Ah, 
* Day. Compare El-iang, 
above.] 



Llygad, ' An Eye.' 

(Welsh.) 

Look-eth. (English.) 



Eel-ios, the Sun. 

(Greek.) 

Hail, the Sun. (Welsh.) 
Hell, Bright. (German.) 



Eel-ios, the Sun. 



(Greek.) 



Lunus. 

Luna. (Latin.) 

Luan, Moon. (Irish 



Gra-haulai, Sun. 

(Abipones.) 
Hello, Fire. 

(Runsienes, N. A.) 

Olo, Sun. 

Allit, Moon. 

(Vilellans, S. A.) 



Alank, a heavenly Lumi- 
nary, or Star. (Algon- 
auyn dialects, N. A.) 



10 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 
North — Egyptians, fyc. | Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



* N jellauma, Day. 

(Pkellata dialect.) 



*Leoure, Moon. 

(Fulak dialect.) 



Kalla, Coll, Moon. 



* Liulu, Moon. 

(Phellata.) 



Woelau. 
Volan, Moon. 



Hyalla, Heaven. 



Ellu, 
Iulo, 
I ewel, Heaven. 



• N'jellauma, and Liulu, both occur in the dialect of the Phellatas, and Leonre occurs 
in Unit of the Fulahs, who are a kindred race. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



11 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Gailgen, Moon. (Coriac.) 
Glau h, Moon. (Sanscrit.) 



Jwala, Light, Flame. 

(Sanscrit.) 



Glauh-r, Moon. [Formed 
from Glauh, Moon, 
above, by ' Sandhi.'] 
(Sanscrit.) 



Rlaida, 

Klaidu, Moon, (Sanscrit.) 
[This, and several of 
the previous Sanscrit 
words, have been com- 
pared with the Welsh 
by Dr. Prichard.] 

Koilak, Heaven. (Tchu- 
gassians, n.e. of Asia 
and n.w. of America.) 



Gealach, Moon. (Irish.) 



Gwawl, 

or 
Wawl, Light. (Welsh.) 

Lloer, Moon. (Welsh.) 
Laor,Moon. (Armorican.) 



Liu, Colour. (Welsh.) 

Llei-ad, Moon. (Welsh.) 
[The double LI gives to 
the word a sound nearly 
the same as CAleiad.] 



Igaluk, Moon. (Kadjaks, 
extreme n.w. o£N.A.) 



Killa, Quilla, Moon. 

(Quichuans, S.A.) 



Killak. (Greenland.) 

Killock, Heaven. 

(Kadjaks.) 



Igalack Moon, as above. 
(Kadjaks.) 



12 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 


AFRICA. 


North — Egyptians, fyc. | Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 


Fire, Sun. Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 


Serapis, 






or 






Soropis, the God of the 

Sun, the same as Osiris. 

(Egypt.) 


- - - - 


Sorohb, Sun. 


Scharappa,* ' Moon.' 
(Berber fy Dongolan.) 


- 


Sorrie, Sun. 


Osiri, Osira, 

(Osiris), believed to be 

the God of the Sun. 

(Egypt.) 




Surrie, Sore, San. 
f Soroka, Day. 




Assara, Moon. 


_ 




Osran, Osseram, Osse- 
ramme, Moon. 






A - un, Sun. [See this 
word more fully illus- 
trated in another part 
of this Analysis.] 


Antu, a Day. 
Andru, Day. 




OmmaOngma, 'Moon.' 


_ 



• Burhum-Sa/am, The Sun, which occurs in one of the Negro dialects, seems to be 
derivable from the same root. 

t Mot-Sichari, Day, a word that occurs among the languages of the South of Africa, is 
probably from the same root. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA 



13 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Sh . r ph, to burn, a 
Conflagration. 

S . h . r ph . e . m, * Se- 
raphs.' 

S h . r .b, to burn, scorch. 
Z e . r, to shine brightly. 



Ts . e . r, a Light, Noon. 
{Hebrew.) 

Surya, the Indian God of 
the Sun. His orb per- 
sonified. {Sanscrit.) 



Sara, 'Moon.' {Syrian, 
Mongol, fy Calmuck.) 



Ser, Stars. {Welsh.) 



Scorch. 



{English.) 



Ser, Stars. {Welsh, as 
above.) 



• Indra,' the Indian God 
of Day, Diespater 



{Sanscrit.) 



Mah, the Moon. 

{Bucharian.) 



Omnia, « Eye,' ' Face,' 
also applied to ' Sun 
and Moon.' {Greek.) 
[Schneider.] 



A no, Day. 

{Caraibs, S. A.) 



Antu Antu, Sun, Day. 

{Araucan, S. A.) 

Inti, Indi, Sun. (In 
several other dialects 
of S. A.) 



14 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc.\ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 





Fire, 


Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 








Mo Moe. 

Muhta. 

Mum Muhm, 'Eye.' 








Moomo, ' Moon.' 


Manga, Eye.* 












Mone, 'Moon.' 


- 


Missigh, 'Eye.'* 




- 


Massou, Massoo, Masso, 
Massorohi, 'Eye.' 

Masso-androu, Sun, (i. e. 
'Eye of Day.'*) [See 
Androu, Day, imme- 
diately before.] 



* It may be inferred, however, that the simple word, Masso, was applied originally as we 
find it in the Georgian, to the Sun, before it was used for the Eye. It is an error to sup- 
pose that the names for such organs as the ' Eye' belong to the first elements of language. 
The name for the Eye is generally a mere derivative of words for ' Light,' ' Sun,' <fcc. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



15 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Mi -en, 'Face.' 

(Chinese fy Burman.) 



Ee m ee . n, 'the Eye,' or 
Finger, (Heb.) [Simi- 
liter 'Per-ception,' now 
used for the 'Eye,' but 
applied originally to 
the hand.] 



M . n . ee. A name un- 
der which the idola* 
trous Jews worshipped 
the 'Material Heavens.' 

Mondy, 'Sun.' 

(Permian.) 



Miezzi, 'Eye.' (Burman.) 



f Moon.' (English.) 

Mene, 'Month.' (Greek.) 
Mensis, 'Month.' (Lat.) 
Mana, 'Moon.' (Lapld.) 



Manoak, 'Sun,' or 'Moon.' 
(Algonquyn Dialects.) 



Musseete, 'Day.' 

(New England.) 

Metzli, 'Moon.' 

(Mexican.) 



16 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians,^. | Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Massch-ekka, ' Sun.' 
[Apparently from Mis- 
sigh,* 'Eye,' and Ika, 
or Ik, 'Fire.' Compare 
Massoandrou, ' Sun.' 
South Africa.'] 
{Berbers fy Dongolans.) 



Sou Siou, Star. (Egypt.) 



*Massu, 
Mass-ge, 'Fire.' 



Midding, 'Moon. 
Wussuk, Fire. 



Wis, Sun. 



Att-aschi, Sun. 



Zu, Sun. 



* See Note in page 14. 



Masso-anro, 
Masso-anru, ' Sun.' 



Masso-am, Sun. 
Majava, 'Day.' 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA, 



1/ 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Miaschta, 'Moon/ 

{Afghan.) 

Masi, 'Moon.' 

(Sanscrit.) 



*M . s . e, 

and 
M . j, 'Sun.' (Georgian.) 



Ash, Fire. 



Az-er, and 
At-emsch. 



(Heb.) 



(Persian.) 



At-emsch. (Pehli.) 

Ath-eresch, Fire. (Zend.) 



Mesaz, 'Moon.' 



•) 
Mis, 'Month.' (Welsh.) 



Us- tue, burnt. (Latin.) 



Ass- o, to roast. (Latin.) 



fAzgo. 
Ash-es. 



(Gothic.) 
(English.) 



fAith-ein, to burn. 

(Greek.) 



Sah, the Sun and Moon. 
(Chippeway.) 

Soo, Moon. 

(Penobscot, N. A.) 

Sua, Sun. (Muy scans, 
S.A., near the Isthmus 
of Darien. 

* See Note in page 14. 

t These words,— Aithein, ' To burn, ; Greek, and < Ashes,' English, &c— are said by 

erman scholars to be mutually connected. (Schwenk's Wbrterbuch.) 

b 



Usi Ussi, Fire. 

(California, N. A.) 

Is-chey, Fire. (Black 

Feet Indians, N. A.) 

Neetak Hasseh, Sun. 

Hasche, Moon. 

(Chikkasahs, N.A.) 



Is-chey, Fire. (Black 
Feet, N.A., as above.) 

Assista, Fire. 

(Hurons, N. A.) 



18 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North— Egyptians, fyc. | Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Shah, Flame. 
Shah shah, Heat, 



{Egypt) 



Njite, 'Fire.' {Phellata.) 



So, Heaven. 



Khem, God of the Sun. 
{Egypt.) 



Nissiek, 'Fire. 

Ntzai, 'Sun.' 
Gimoihu, Fire. 



T'kaam 
Gam, Moon 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



19 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Zee ou, Beams, Rays, 
Splendour. 

Zee, to be bright. (Heb.) 



Schun, Sun. (Mantchu.) 
Z.k. Flame. 

Ts . c' h . e, to shine. 

Ts . c' h, clear and parch- 
ing. 

Ts . c' h . ts c' h, violent 
Heat, or Drought. 

(Heb.) 



N . sh . k, to kindle, to rise 
in flame, to kindle a 
fire. (Heb.) 



C h m, Hot, Heat. 

C h . m m, to be in- 
flamed. 

C'h.m.n.ee.n, Sun 
(Heb.) 



Sua, Fire. (Basque.) 



Zeo, to be hot. (Greek.) 

Sua, Fire. (Basque, as 
above.) 



Sun. 



(English.) 



Siccus, Dry. (Latin.) 
Sych, Dry. (Welsh.) 



Nitidus, Shining. 



(Latin.) 



Tscan-u, Sun. 
Tschaan, Day. 

Tschan-e, Moon. (Kinai 
Tribe, extreme n.w. 
ofiV^.) 

Tcenoe, Moon. 

(Cherokee.) 

Sacche, Sun. 

(Mossans, S.A.) 
Sekkinek, Sun. 

(Greenland, N. A.) 



Kaumet, Sun. 

Kaumei, Moon. 

(Greenland.) 
Gomma, Moon. 

(California.) 
Kyem, Moon. (Araucan.) 



20 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc.\ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Chrom, 
Grom, 
Krom, Fire. 



{Egypt.) 



Grom, f Fire,' (Egyptian, 
as above.) 



Giom, Heaven 



Giro, Sun 

Karree, Moon 
Korro, Moon 



Giro, ' Sun,' as above. 



T'koara, Sun. 
T'kaukarah, Moon. 
Konri, 'Moon.' 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



21 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Kumar, Heaven. 

{Permian.) 

C h r . a, Cli . r . e, to kin- 
dle, burn up. (Heb.) 

Chor. (Persian.) 

Chorschid. (Pehli.) 

Chorschid, Sun. 

(Ossetian.) 

G . r . m, Warm. (Pers.) 



C'h.r.e, to burn. 

(Heb. as above.) 



Gorm, to heat, or warm. 
(Irish.) 

Warm.' (Eng. fy Germ.) 

Gwr-es, Heat; 

Greiaw, to burn ; 



Grei-an, i.e. 'theBumer,' 
the Sun. (Welsh.) 



Coaracy, Cuarasi, Qua- 
rassi, Sun. (Brazil.) 



Chiriti, Moon. (Caraibs.) 



Grau-haulai, Sun. 

Grau-ek, Moon. 

(Abipones, S. A.) 



Grian. 



Grag, Fire. (Armenian.) 



E e . ph . c'h,* to breathe, 
to pant. 

Ph. on . c'h, to blow up- 
on, kindle, inflame. 

(Heb.) 



(Irish.) 



Gar-akou. (Hurons.) 

Garocqua, Sun. 

(Iroquois, N.A.) 

Epee, Fire. 

(Katabans, N. A) 

Pioc Peez, Fire. 

(Moxians, S.A.) 

Paahteh, Fire. 

(Nadowessians, N. A.) 
Futui, Fire. 

(Betoans, S. A.) 

• It is observable that the Hebrew words, Ee . ph . c> h, and Ph . ou . C h, jre evidenUy 
imitations of the act of Breathing, or Puffing. They may, I conceive, be regarded as the 
roots of all the words for ' Fire,' &c, which tollow. 



22 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc. | Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Teb re, Heaven. 
Tuahhey, 'the Sun. 



Bazu, 
» and 
Bazou, Fire. - 



Fosseye, the Sun. 



Aifi-am, Of-endi, the 
Moon. 



Tubhia, Tubia, Fire. 



Ibida, 



T'aib, Fire. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



23 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA, 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven 



Ee . ph . c'h. (As above.) 

Ph . ou . c'h. (As above.) 
Aifi, Fire. (Sumbava.) 



Fi. 
Fei. 
Vu-r. 
Bi. 



(Japan.) 

(Siam.) 

(Afghan.) 

(Siberian.) 



Phos, Fire, Flame. 

Ee . ph-aistos, Vulcan, 
the God of Fire. 

(Greek.) 
Foc-us. (Latin.) 

Fire, Fei-er, (English fy 
German,) formed from 
the root by adding -er, 
the formative of nouns. 



B . sh . 1, to ripen in the 
Sun, to boil. (Heb.) 

Phos, Star. (Japan.) 



Ee p h o, to shine forth. 
(Heb.) 

Ee p . h . o, Brightness, 
Splendour. (Chald.) 

Ee p . p h . e, very beau- 
tiful. (Heb.) 

A If, the Moon. (Kurdish.) 

Af, the Sun, and 

T'eb, the Sun. (Sanscr.) 

Af-teb, the Sun. 

*> (Persian.) 

Tab, Heat. (Persian.) 
T aw, ' Sun.' (Kurdish.) 



Bask. 



(English.) 



Pho-s, Fire, Light. 

(Greek.) 

Pha-o, to shine. (Greek.) 



Phoib-os, 'Phoebus,' the 
Sun. (Greek.) 



Tep-or. 



(Lathi.) 



Tea-s, or Deas, Sun- 
beams. (Welsh.) 



Tash, a Day. (Pimans, 

south o£N. A.) 
Tasi, Fire. (The Kinai, 

extreme n.w. of N.A.) 
Daazoa, Sun. 

(Mokobis, S. A.) 



24 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc.\ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 
Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



To trig, ' Moon. 



Hauy, Fire. 

{Nubia fy Abyss.) 



Tedi, 'Moon.' 



Tuah' hey, ' Sun.' 

(Nubia fy Abyss.) 

Haou, 

and 
Eoohu, Day. (Egypt.) 



' I . oh' Lunus, the God 
of the Moon. (Egypt.) 

JohOohOihOou, Glory. 
(Egypt.) 



Ot u, and 
Hn, Fire. 



Uwya, Awia, 

Ua, and Ou, ' Sun. 
Aou . eh, Moon. 






Ei T.ei, and T'jih 
< Fire.' 



H u . n, Sun. [See Hu, 
Fire, above.] 

A u-n, and Uw i-n, ' Sun.' 
[See Awia, and Ua, 
Sun, above.] 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



25 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Tadi, ' Hot.' {Afghan) 



Tab-dar, Hot. {Persian.) 



Ot m, to be burnt up. 

{Heb.) 
! Ho, 'Fire.' {Chinese.) 



Ha, Hai, Hen, Sun. 

{Core a.) 



Hen, Sun (as above). 

{Corea.) 



Te k-o, to melt, consume. 
{Greek.) 



Tceda, a Torch. {Latin.) 



Hot. 



{English.) 



Tata, Fire. 

{Omaguans, N. A.) 

To-atka, Fire. {Musgoh- 
ges, S. Carolina, N.A.) 



Ouato, Fire. 

{Caribs, S. A.) 
Otschichta, Fire. 

{Onandagos, N. A.) 

Oua, {Natchez,) and You, 

Fire. {Woccons, N.A.) 



E-o s, theDawn. {Greek.) 



Huan, Phoebus, the Sun. 
{Welsh.) 



Hueiou, Weyo, Veio, 
'Sun.' {Caraibs,S.A.) 



Auhe, Oweeh, Moon. 

{Choctans, N. A.) 

Yehiha, Moon. 

{Mobimans, S. A.) 
Yachquau, Moon. 

{Senekas, N. A.) 



26 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc.\ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Ton-ik Fire, 



To in, Sun. 

{Nubia fy Abyssinia.) 



Tan gu, Tan go, Tan goa, 
Sun. 



Ik, Ika, Fire. - 
{Berbers fy Bongolans.) 



Nahangue, 
Nonge, Sun. - 
{Fulahs fy Phellatahs.) 



K o e, to burn. 
' Ko. h" th, Fire. 
Koe, to burn. 



{Egypt.) 



Deemwa, Fire. 
Diambo, Sun. 

Ejia, Fire. 



Agning, 
Engink, Sun. 



Danghitsi, Heaven. - 



Ecy, Fire. 



Inyanga, 
Eanga, 
Inganga, Moon. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



2/ 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Tschingochok, Sun, and 
T angeik. (Tschugas 
sians, n. e. of Asia 
and n.w. of America.) 

Tengri, Heaven. 

(Tagurian.) 



Ta-an, Fire. (Welsh.) 



Teine, 'Fire,' also 'The 
Sun.' (Irish.) 



A g nih, Fire. (Sanscrit.) 



Ee . c . b, and Cou e : 
to burn. (Hebrew.) 



Tee me, or Time, (Irish,) 
and Dou y m, or 
Touym, Heat, Hot. 

(Welsh.) 



Ta-ande, 
and 

Teinde. 

(Algonquyn Dialects.) 

To-natiuh, Sun. 

(Mexican.) 

T schingukuk, Sun. 
(Kadjaks, n. w. of A.) 



Toendi, Heaven. 

(Hurons, N. A.) 



Iigain, ' I Burn.' (Russ.) 
Ignis, Ignem. (Latin.) 
Okon, Fire. (Sclavonian.) 



Kaio, to burn. (Greek.) 



Ioak, Fire. 

(Choktahs, N. A.) 



Ig nach, 

Ing nek, Fire. 

(Greenland.) 



Co oh, Fire. 

(Sussees, N. A.) 
Kuthal, Ktal, Fire. 

(Araucan, S. A.) 

Chuk kut. 

(Na?'aga?isetts.) 



28 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 
North — Egyptians, fyc. | Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Dag, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Kohth, Fire. 



Shah, Flame. 
Shah shah Heat. 

{Egyptian.) 



Ejia, 'Fire.' 
Edja, 'Fire.' 



Dio, 'Fire.' 
Day, 'Sun.' 



Eju, - - 
Ejwyge, Sun. 

Gajewoade, Fire. 

Uk, 

Igodu, Moon. 



Ecy, Fire. 



Ka, 

and 
K cha, Moon. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



29 



ASIA, 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Djo, Djau, Heaven, Air. 
(Sanscrit.) 

Divasi, Day. 



Diwaspiti (' Diespater'), 
Jupiter, ' Father of 
Day.' {Sanscrit.) 



Die-s, Day. (Latin.) 



Dio,Dios, (Jupiter, Father 
of Day.) (Greek.) 



Kohteoue, Kotawa, 
(and used by the same 
tribe.) 

S cute, Fire. 

(Miamis, N.A.) 



Diespater. 



(Latin.) 



Equia, 

and 
Igus-guia, Sun. 

Goiza, Morning. 



(Basque.) 



Kizho, 
Kes-us, 
Kissessua, 
Gischi, 

Geschu, Sun ; 
Kijigah, Day. 

(Algonquyn dialects:) 



Hak,* Moon; 

Io- hakta, a Star. (Algon- 
quyn dialects, N. A.) 

K'akh, Fire. (Yucatan.) 

Kacha, Moon. (Ugaljach- 
nuti, near Behring's 
Straits, N. A.) 

Cayacu, Moon. (Brazil.) 



• Da Ponceau, whose principles arc here adopted as probably applicable to all ^"^ges, 
states that in the Algonquyn Class of Dialects of North America the name, tor the Moon 
a fdertd from tho^e foVthe Sun, with the addition of a word t -^^ g ^^S^ 
word Hak, he says, is very generally thus used, for the Moon, with the requisite 



30 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc. | Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 
Fire, Sun, Dag, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Onafeja, Moon. 

{Berber fy Dongolan 



Onateja, Moon. 

{Berber fy Dongolan.) 



F jo, Moon. 



T'jo, 'Moon. 



Teelee, ' Sun.' 
Duleh, 'Sun/ 

Dalkah, 'Day/ 



Dilko, 'Heaven.' 
Dalkah, aDay, (as above.) 



Genaa, 'Sun.' 
Guiante, 'Sun.' 

Gonde, Gonda, 'Moon.' 



T' ga, Moon. 



P.jih, Fire. 



T ga, Moon. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



31 



ASIA 



EUROPE, 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



TuikiAt, Sun. (Coriac.) 
D'ge, ■ Day.' (Georgian.) 

Tagara, ' Heaven.' 

(Jukutian.) 

Tael, Tylys, Moon. 

{Permian.) 



Tjel, ■ Day.' 

Tsjel-emi, 'Daily.' 

(Ostiaks.) 



Tag, 'Day,' (German.) 
Day. (English.) 



Tacock, Moon. 

(Esquimaux.) 

Taiki, Fire. 

(Pimans, S. A.) 

Taiki, Sun. 

(Tarahumaran.) 



Taglich. 
Dai-ly. 



Guin escli, 

Gunes, ' Sun.' (Turk.) 

Gun, 'Day.' (Casanians.) 



Gundus, 'Day.' 

(Tartar.) 

Kun, Sun. (Tartar.) 



(German.) 
(English.) 



Gunnei, or Cunnei, 'A 
great Fire.' 



Gunnes, 'Warm. 



(Welsh.) 



Tsele, Day. (Tarahu- 
maran, s. of N. A.) 



Talkon, a Day. (The 
Kinai, extreme n. \v. 
ofN. A.) 

Kes-is Kesus, 'Sun.' 

(Algonquyn.) 
Coun,Fire. (Chipfjeivay.) 



Cone, Sun. (New Erig.) 



3: 



CO MFARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 
North — Egyptians, fyc. \ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Agonne, Moon. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



33 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Kjun, Day. (Turk.) 



Tschi, Schi, 'Day.' 
(Morduins, n. e. of Asia.) 



Egun, Day. (Basque.) 



Kize-kun, Okene-gat,* 
'Day.' 
(Algonquyn dialects.) 



Tes-Gessu, Sun. [Evi- 
dently a compound of 
Gischu or Kiz-ho, the 
Sun, with 'Tesh.'fl 

Hence, 

Teshe-kow, 'Day.' 

(Algonquyn Dialects.) 



• According to Du Ponceau tlie words for ' Day,' in the Algonquyn tongues, are 
modifications of the words for the ' Sun.' 

t Tash, * A Day,' (Ptmaiis, south of N. A.) This word, Teas, or Tesh, has already 
been traced through the various meanings of Fire, Sun, Day, &c 



34 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc.\ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Dag, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



S & 



*> / 



! O 

II J 

i a. 



Tschukko, 'Heaven.' 
K' tak. 



Nglioi, 'Heaven.' [Also 
'Thunder in the Air.'] 



T' gachu, ' Heaven/ 



Homma, 'Heaven.' [See 
Omma, Moomo, anl 
other analogous words 
previously explained, 
applied to 'Sun and 
Moon.'] 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



35 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, 


Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 


Kjok,* 'Heaven.' 




Kez-hik, 


(Turk.) 




Keg-ik, Heaven. 


Chok, 'Heaven.' (Tart.) 






Kuk, 'Heaven.' (Casan.) 






Kh' igan, ' Heaven.' 




Gezhegonk, Heaven. 


{Comae.) 




(Algonquyn.) 


Ko-chan, 'Heaven.' 






(Kamschatka.) 






Kundscku, ' Heaven.' 






(Jukadshires.) 






Shkai, ' Heaven.' 


' Sky.' (Eng. $> Ban.) 


Ta k, Tack, ' Heaven. ' 


(Morduins.) 




{Esquimaux.) 

Kesch^kewe, Heaven. 

{Algonquyn.) 


Kiusiu-luste. 






(Tscheremessian.) 







• Words for Heaven, in the languages of the North of Asia, which are evidently con- 
nected with the North American Indian words for Heaven, and also with the North 
American Indian names for the 'Sun,' from which they are derived. 



30 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc. | Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, 


Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, H 


eaven. 


Szemmey, Heaven. 

{Nubia fy Abyssinia.) 






Szemma, Heaven. 






{Berbers fy Dongolans.) 






Szemma, Heaven. 






(Phellata.) 








Szemma. 


- 




Szemma. 






Szemma. 


- 




Szemma. 






Assaman. 


-mm. 




Sambiam pungo. 
Assamane, Heaven. 





Ape, Ape, Aphe, 'Head. 



A ph . o ph, a Giant. 

CEgypt.) 



Ibanju. - 



Ivaq. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



37 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Sema, Heaven. (Arabic.) 

Shmia, Heaven. 

(Fehlwi.) 

Asman, Heaven. 

(Siberian Tartars.) 



Upo. 
Up. 



(Greek.) 
(English.) 



Heavion, to rise, 



Heafon, Heaven. 

(Ang. Sax.) 



Haupt. 



(German.) 



Heafod. (Ang. Sax.) 

Huf-wud, Head. 

(Swedish.) 



A woso-gam6, Heaven. 
[Literally 'En Haut/ 
on high.] 

(Algonquyn.) 



Apez, Heaven. 



(Moxian.) 



I bag, Ibaca. (Brazil.) 

Oubecon, (Caraibs,) 

and 

Ipigem, Heaven; 

(Abipones.) 



38 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc.\ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



[See this column, previous 
page.] 

Pe, 

and 
Phe, Heaven. 



N e tl^Pe and Ne-Pheou 
Heaven-s or Heaven. 



Net-phe, an Egyptian 
Goddess, the consort 
of Seb or Saturn. Her 
emblem was * The Fir- 
mament.' 



Ne-Pheou, Heaven-s or 
Heaven. [Like the 
Greek 'Ouranoi.'] 

{Egypt.) 



Sum, 'Heaven.' [Com- 
pare preceding words.] 



Isuhlu, Heaven. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



39 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Nebo, Heaven. 

(Sclavon.) 

Nev, Heaven. {Welsh.) 



Ibo, 

Ibunga, the Sun. 

(California.) 



S 1, to raise, elevate. 

(Hebrew.) 



Cel sus, Coelum. (Latin.) 



40 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North— Egyptians, fyc. | Middle — Negroes. \ South — Hottentots, fyc. 



% Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Aineha. 



Maaro, Heaven. [Com- 
pare the formation of 
M — / A . ou . r, a 
Luminary, Hebrew, 
from A our, Light,* as 
previously explained.] 



Aineha addela, Eye. 

(Nubia fy Abyss.) 



* According to the views of many Hebrew scholars, A .ou . r, * Light,' and A ou . ee . r, 
'Air,' are probably from the same root — Ar, 'To flow,' — applied to Water, Air, 
Light, &c. (See p. 5, Appendix A.) 



Atem co. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



41 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



A ou . ee . r, Air, Space, 
(Chald.) 
from 
A r, to flow. (H b.) 



A wyr, the Air, the Sky. 

•) 



Arw, Heaven. 



(Ossetian.) 



Auwa, Heaven. 

(Sib. Tartars.) 



A er 



and 



E r e, Juno, the Atmos- 
phere or Heavens per- 
sonified. 

A . 6, to blow, breathe. 
(Greek.) 

Aha, Breath. (German.) 



A-them, Breath, Air. 

(German.) 

Atm-e, Atm-os, Breath, 
Vapour. 

Atmos-Sphaira, Atmos- 
phere. (Greek.) 

Atmosphere. (English.) 

Chwa, a gust of Wind. 
(Welsh.) 



Wahwi, ' Heaven.' 

(Algonquyn.) 
[According to Du Pon- 
ceau, of unknown ori- 
gin, 'origine incon- 
nue.' But see the ad- 
joining column.] 



Oeen, Eye. 

Ene, Behold. (Heb.) 

Yen, Eye. (Chinese.) 



En, Behold. (Latin.) 



Aino, Eye. 

(Mossans, S. A.) 

En-ourou, Yen-ourou, 
Eye. (Caraibs, S. A.) 



42 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc.\ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Neay. 
Hinma,, Eye. 



Neay (as above). 

Nou kou, 
Onukou, Eye. 



'Ego at, Eye. 

{Nubia fy Abyss.) 



Khasso, Eye. 
Guitte, Eye. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



43 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Ne, Eye. {Circassian.) 



Achsi, Eye. {Sanscrit.) 



Giosgus, Gus, Eye. 

{Turk.) 



Eage, Eye. {Any. Sax.) 
Oko, Eye. {Sclavonian.) 
Oculus, Eye. {Latin.) 



Nahui,Eye. {Quichuans.) 

Nagui, Eye. 

{Quitenans, S. A.) 

Ne, 

Nege, Ge, 'Eye.' 

{Araucan, S. A.) 

Nigiiecogue, 
Nigecogee, 'Eye.' 

{M. Bayan.) 

Natocle, * Eye/ {Abi- 
pones, inhabitants of 
the extreme s. of S. 
America.) 

Ishyik. 

K heseoue, the Eye, 

connected with 

Kes.us, the Sun. 

{Algonquyn* N.A.) 



Kussee, Eye. 

{Nootka Sound.) 



• The names for the Eye, in the Algonquyn dialects of North America are stated by 
Du Ponceau to be derivatives of names for the Sun. This is generally but not i would 
seem, universally the case in all languages. Probably it would a^ bemore, correct as a 
general rule, to say that the names for the Eye, and for the Sun, are from the same roots, 
than that the latter are the roots of the former 



44 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICA. 

North — Egyptians, fyc.\ Middle — Negroes. | South — Hottentots, ^c. 



Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Zu, Sun (as before). 



T saguh, Eye. 



Szan-ko, Eye. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



45 



ASIA. 



EUROPE. 



AMERICA. 



Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



Sai, Saiwa, Saie, Eye. 

(Samoied.) 



Sagax, Quick of Sight. 
(Latin.) 



Sah, the Sun and Moon. 
(Chippeway, as before.) 

Zu, 

and 
Zuiake, Eye. 

(Lulians, S. A.) 



Sight. 



See. 
Sehen. 



Schun, ( &\m.\Mantchu.) Sun. 



(English.) 



(English.) 
(German.) 



(English.) 



Sein, Eye. (Ostiaks.) 



•Sh.msh, Sun. (Heb.) 



Schun, Sun. (Mantchu.) 



Tchien, Eye. (Tibet.) 



Szem, Eye. (Hungarian.) 



Sun. 



Shenek, Eye. 
(Algon. dialects, N. A.) 



46 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



North — Egyptians, fyc. \ 



AFRICA. 
Middle — Negroes, j South — Hottentots, fyc. 



Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



N> 



O 53 

o S 
a. * 

as b* 

.- f 

"a. c 



T3 O 

1§ 

33 S 



s * 

S o 



^ o 

J3 V. 









be w 

= S3 

o 5 



•3.S 

fa 



o y Bal, an Eye, 



Bel, Eyes. 



fflw'O 



Belle, Blind. [Supposed 
by Dr. Loewe to be 
from Bel or Bal, and 
the Hebrew negative 
suffix </.'] {Egypt.) 




WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 47 


ASIA. 


EUROPE. 


AMERICA. 


Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 



E e d, the Hand. 



E ed o, to feel, to per- 
ceive, to know. 



Do, Knowledge. (Heb.) 



Do-eth re, Eye. (Zend.) 



Bth, the Pupil of the 
Eye. (Hebrew.) 



R . ou . c' h, Air. 

(Hebrew.) 

Ruchs, Air. (Ossetian.) 



Eido, to see, to know. 

(Greek.) 



Do-eth, Wise. (Welsh.) 



Ball, Eyeball. (English.) 
Bli-ck. (German.) 



Blink. (English.) 

[Compare this word 
with the last.] 



Blind, 
Black. 



(English.) 



Yede, Eye. 

(Zamucans, S. A.) 



Toke, Eye. 

(Fillelans, 8. A.) 



48 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



REMARKS. 

The proofs involved in the previous Analysis of the original unity of 
the different languages of the globe are distinct and vivid. It will be ob- 
served that those irregularities of structure, which are to be found more 
or less in each individual language, viewed separately, disappear when the 
whole mass of human tongues are thus surveyed in combination as deri- 
vative branches of one original speech. Moreover, it will be seen that the 
greater the number of languages, and the wider the geographical surface 
of the globe comprised in the comparison, the more minutely may be 
traced the steps of the transition by which the languages of mankind 
branched off from their common Original. This evidence is in its nature 
demonstrative of the truths developed in these pages. 

It will be apparent that the Heavenly Bodies were originally designated 
by numerous synonymes applied to the Sun, Moon, and Stars alike. In 
the course of time, a portion of these terms fell into disuse among each 
different branch of the human family ; and as these various tribes did not, 
except in individual instances, preserve the same terms, these changes 
gave rise to differences, apparently fundamental. Moreover, in those in- 
stances in which the same terms were retained, time produced important 
conventional differences of application. For example, in order to distin- 
guish the Sun, Moon, &c. from each other. 

1. A portion of these synonymes, which were originally used for all 
the Heavenly Bodies alike, were exclusively appropriated to the Sun, while 
other synonymes were appropriated in like manner to the Moon, &c. ; 
among different nations the same terms were frequently applied to different 
luminaries. Thus, in conformity to this principle, the English words 
' Sun* and ' Moon' will be found to occur in the previous Analysis each 
applied, in other languages, to both those luminaries. 

2. In some cases the different luminaries were distinguished from each 
other in a different manner, viz. two or more synonymes were united into 
one compound word, which was employed as the distinctive name of one 
of the Heavenly Bodies, as of the Sun, for example, while the ' Moon' and 
the ' Stars' continued to be known by their original names, consisting of 
simple synonymes ; or received new names, formed by means of distinct 
compounds. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 49 

Examples of the second class abound in the dialects of the American 
continent. One example may suffice in this place, by way of illustration: 
' Tes-gessu' in some of these dialects means the Sun ; in other dialects 
we find each of its component elements, ' Tei and ' Gessu,' used sepa- 
rately as names of the same luminary. In common with many other 
important truths, the nature and origin of these compounds are, I con- 
ceive, rendered clearly apparent by an extended range of comparison, 
though they seem to have been a source of embarrassment to the philoso- 
phical mind of Du Ponceau, whose valuable inquiries were confined to a 
particular class of the dialects of North America. 

When the results of the previous Analysis are compared with the 
previous collection of African synonymes, used as names of the Heavenly 
Bodies, &c, it will be found that nearly every one of these synonymes has 
been unequivocally connected with the languages of the other three great 
divisions of the globe. The exceptions are too insignificant to be in any 
respect deserving of attention, with reference to the objects of this investi- 
gation. The completeness of this explanation of the African terms may, 
in the first instance, form a subject of surprise. But, astonishing as the 
results of the previous comparison in this respect undoubtedly are, they 
are nevertheless precisely the same as we should be led a priori to expect, 
on the assumption that the African nations are descended from the same 
stock as the inhabitants of the other three continents.* • 



* I need scarcely observe that the previous Analysis must necessarily be, in some 
respects, philological ly incomplete. Agreska, Ogreska, (Nubia and Abyssinia,) seem 
to be related to Agir, Fire, (Kurd.) We-taga, the Sun, (Negro,) seems to be a com- 
pound of the second class above noticed from Awia, Uwia, and Tjo, T'ga, African words 
for the Heavenly Bodies. Gjaubenje and Ma-undgage wodu, Fire, are plainly compounds 
from Gajewodu, Fire, (Negro.) The evidence derived from words, of which the origin 
is clearly traceable, is so complete, that all words of doubtful origin have been omitted 
from the previous and from the following Tables. 



50 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



WORDS FOR 'MAN, WOMAN, HUMAN BEING.' 



[In the following Analysis, the letter m. marks nouns masculine, ('Vir,' 
Latin, 'Man/ English;) f. marks nouns feminine, (' Fosmina,' 
Latin, 'Woman, 5 English;) h. marks terms applied to a 'Human 
Being,' whether 'male' or 'female,' ('Homo,' Latin, 'Mensch,' 
German;) there is no equivalent expression in the English 
language.] 



From the following Analysis, it will be apparent that, originally, the 
same words were in most instances applied to individuals of the human 
race, whether male or female, indiscriminately. Subsequently, a portion 
of the synonymes, thus indiscriminately applied in the first instance to the 
whole species, were separately appropriated to each of the two sexes ; 
while another portion, as, for example, the Latin, 'Homo,' and the 
German, ' Mensch,' continued to be used as general terms for an indi- 
vidual of the species, without reference to sex. 

As the appropriation of these words was purely conventional, the same 
synonymes were very frequently appropriated, among different branches 
of the human race, to different sexes : i. e. a word appropriated to ' Man' 
(Vir) by some tribes was appropriated to the 'Female' sex (Foemina) by 
other tribes. It is also evident that the terms thus appropriated consisted 
in some instances of simple, in others of compound, synonymes. 

These principles, which are precisely analogous to the results which 
flow from a comparison of the names of ' The Heavenly Bodies' in the 
African tongues and in the other languages of the globe* will be found to 
afford a complete and consistent explanation of the phenomena displayed 
by the following Analysis, viz. : As before suggested, we find the word* 
applied to the human race in the different tongues of the globe the same; 
it is only in the appropriation of those words, as regards the two sexes, 
that we find a wide diversity in the various languages of the human race. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 51 



Words for 'Man, Woman, 9 fyc. — Class I. 

FIRST MODIFICATION. 

North Africa.— Fulahs fy Phellatahs Gour-ko, m., Gourk-o Mahedo, m. 

Negro-land - Gourr, h., Garr, h., Core, h. 

Gour-gne, m., Kerim, f. 

Europe. — Welsh - Gour, m. 

(A mighty man, a hero.) Gour-on, m. 

Asia. — Taraikai - - Guru, h 

Kamschatka - - Kur, h. 

Pelu - - - Kor, h. 

Negro-land (as above) - - Core. h. 



SECOND MODIFICATION. 

South Africa. — Madagascar - Urun, h. 

Orrang, m.* 

Europe. — Welsh. (Modifications of Our, m., Ouron, m. 
'Gour and Gour-on,' above.) 

Asia. — Malay - Orang, m. 

South America. — Qmcuans - Uar mi, f. 

Negro-land (as above) - - Kerim, f. 



There is a very obvious connexion between the above words for Man 
and a word for c The Hand,' of which the extreme antiquity is apparent 
from its occurring in the languages of races so widely separated as the 
following, in whose tongues this word exists in the subjoined forms, which 
cannot be said essentially to differ from each other: Gara (Mongol), 
Kara (Sanscrit), Keir (Greek), c The Hand.'' [Compare the relation 
shown in the following examples between Manus, 'The Hand' (Latin), and 
Manus-zia (Sanscrit), and Men-sch (German), i. e. Homo, a ' Human 
Being.'] 

* Hence the name of the ' Ourang Outang.' 



52 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



Words for ' Man, Woman? fyc. — Class II. 



Europe. — English - 

Welsh (Living, to live) 
Greek (To live) 
Greek (Life) 

Asia. — Koibals, N. Asia - 

Negro-land - 



To Be. 

Biou. 

Bio-o.* 

Bi-os. 

Biuse, m. 

Buas-ja, f. 



Words for ' Man, Woman/ fyc. — Class III. 



first modification. 



Europe. — Latin 
South Africa. — Koosas 

(A Child) 



Homo, h. 

Uhm-to, h. 
Uhm-fasi, f. 
Uhm-toano. 



Negro-land. (A compound, appa- Bi-ommo, h. 
rently, of Ommo and the 
previous word ' Biou,' &c.) 



South America. — Betoans 


Humasoi, h. 
Umasoi, h. 


Negro-land - 


Um-ir, h. 
Mo, H. 


Asia. — Ossetians - 


Mo, H. 


South America. — Guaramians - 


Me, m. 


Negro-land - 


Amme, h., Emme, h. 
Meame, h. 
Mammoku, m. 
Mangman, f. 



• Obaini, m., Baning, m. (Negro), seem to be connected with Bio-6n (GrteJt), <A 
BeiiJg, , (English.) 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



53 



The following are examples of words of this class applied to the Female 

Sex: 



South America. — Mobimans 

Mossans (' A Mother') 

Negro-land - 

North Africa. — Egypt 

Europe. — Basque - 

Asia. — Karassians and Ostiaks - 

Europe. — Fin. - 



Ma, f. 
Meme, f. 

Ma, f., Mmi, f. 

Hime, f., Himi, f. 

Emea, f. 

Ima, f., Ime, f. 

Waimo, f. 



SECOND MODIFICATION. 



Europe. — Latin (from Homo) 
(Human) 
(The Hand) - 

Asia. — Sans. (A * Human Being') 

Europe. — German (The same) 
(A Man, Vir) 
English - 
Danish - 

Negro-land - 

South Africa. — Lagoa Bay 
Beetjuanas 



Asia. — Kurd - 
Ossetian 

South America. — Omaguans 



Ho-mm-em, h. 
Ku-'man'-Hs. 
' man' -us. 

Manus-zia, h. 

Men-sch, h. 
Mann, m. 
Man, m. 
Mand, m. 

Manee, h., Mond, h., Mundu, h. 

Monhee, h. 
Muhn-to, h. 
Mon-una, m. 

Manno, m. 
Moine Mo, h. 

Mena, m. 



The following are examples in which the Second Modification and the 
transition from the first to the second form of these words are traceable 
in words applied to the Female Sex 

Europe. — Fin. (Woman, as above) Waimo, f. 



Asia. — Sanscrit 
E ur ope . — English 



WaL-mani, f. 
Wo-man, f. 



54 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 

The words of this Class may be distinctly traced, in both their previous 
modifications, as Pronouns in common use in the principal languages of 
Europe and Asia. The value of this evidence will be understood when 
Home Tooke's principle, that Pronouns are identical with Nouns, is borne 
in mind. 

1 . Pronouns identical with Amme, Emme, Meame, ' Man,' above : 

Aham, ' 1/ Mam, < Me,' {Sanscrit.) 
Erne, 'Me/ {Greek.) 

2. Pronouns identical with M onhe, Mano, Manee, ' Man,' above. 

Mon, f I,' {Ostia/c.) Men, I, {Persian.) 

Menik, '1/ {Belutchee.) Menya, 'Me,' {Russian.) 

f Mein/ {German and English.) 

For other examples, see Observations on the Algonquyn Dialects of 
North America. 

There is another topic that calls for observation in this place. 

The origin of the peculiar transition, observable in this class of words, 
as, for example, in the instance of the Latin words ' Homo, Ko-tninis, 
Hu-manus, Manus/ has been fully investigated in the Observations on the 
Algonquyn Dialects of North America. Those observations are equally 
applicable in this place, for the previous Analysis establishes the re- 
markable fact that the African languages exhibit in this instance not only 
the same words, but the principal subordinate modifications of those 
words, which occur in the tongues of the other three continents. 

Further, these modifications are completely traceable in the Negro dia- 
lects separately considered. They are also completely traceable in the 
dialects of South Africa separately considered. Moreover, it may be 
added, that these gradations of inflexion actually coexist in one single 
class of South African dialects : f Uhm-to, Muhn-to, Momma/ are all 
found in the languages of the kindred tribes, the Koossas and Beetjuanas. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



55 



Words for ' Man, Woman' #-c. — Class IV. 



FIRST MODIFICATION. 



South America. — Abipones and Joal£, h. 
Mokobis ... Aalo, f. 



Negro-land - 

Europe. — Latin Pronouns 
South Africa. — Madagascar 



Alo, F. 

IUe, IUa. 

Lelay, m. 
Lahe, m. 



North Africa. — Egypt 

Negro-land - 

South Africa. — Madagascar 

Asia. — Malays of Formosa 

N. America. — Algonquyn dialects 



Negro-land 



SECOND MODIFICATION. 

Lomi, h. 



Olummi, m.* 

Olon, h. 
Oelun, h. 

Aulon, h. 

Ahlaniah, h. 
Hlaniah, h. 
Illenni, h. 
Lenno, m. 
Lennis, h. 

Laniu, m. 
Lung, f. 



Words for 'Man, Woman,' fyc. — Class V. 
Europe. — Welsh, * Full of Spirits' Nouv us. 
Asia. — Hebrew. (Breath, Spirit, 



A Man) 
Negro-land 



N . ph . sh, h. 

Nipa, h., Nippa, h. 
Nebeju, m., Enipa, h. 



N. America. — Algonquyn dialects Nepiou, h., Napiou, h. 

Nabou, h., L en-nape', M. 



Ilium (Latin). 



56 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 

Referring to the foregoing American words, Nepio and Nabou, 
Du Ponceau observes, <e Ces deux derniers semblent avoir quelque rapport 
avec Len-ape." " The last two seem to have some connexion with Len-ape." 
Lenape is plainly a compound of the two preceding roots, Lenno and 
Napiou. The nature of these compounds, which, as above stated, may 
be said to have escaped the observation of Du Ponceau, has been ex- 
plained in the preceding remarks on ' The Heavenly Bodies.' Len-ape is 
a compound formed to distinguish the Male sex. 



Words for 'Man, Woman,' fyc. — Class VI. 

FIRST MODIFICATION. 

North Africa— Egypt (To live) Anah . On . h. 

Asia. — Heb. (To sigh, breathe) A . n . c . h. 

A . n . sh, m., N . sh . e, f. 

Kamschatka - - Ainu, m 

Negro-land - Nu, m., In, f. 

South Africa. — Bosjesmans - T'Na, m. 

N. America. — Algonquyn dialects - Anini, h., Inin, m., Ninnee, m., 

Inishiti, h. 

Asia. — Hebrew (as above) - An . sh, m., N sh . e, f. 

second modification. 

Negro-land - Ungi, m. 

Jankueh, f., Nga, f. 

North Africa. — Phellatahs - Nekdo, h. 

North America.— Iroquois - - Ongue, h. 
Greenland - Innuk, h. 

Agreeably to Home Tooke's principles, the following Pronouns in other 
languages may be regarded as identical with the African Nouns in the 
Analysis, viz. : 

The Pronoun of the Second Person, Nyu, Nai, ' Thou' (Chinese), may 
be identified with Nu, and T'na. The Pronouns of the First Person, '1/ 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



57 



Anok (Egyptian), An . c . ee (Hebrew), Ionga (Greek), Ngoo (Chinese), 
may be viewed as identical with Ungi Jankueh and Nga.* 

Further examples of both the previous Modifications of Class VI. 
Being words applied to the Female Sew. 



Asia. — Malay 

Turkish (A Mother) 


~ 


Ina, f. 
Anna, f. 


Negro-land 


- 


- 


Anna, f. 


South America. — Sapebocans 


- 


Anu, f. 


Europe . — Hungari 


an (A Mother) 


Anya. 


Negro-land 


- 


- 


Wan, f., Jankueh, f. 


Asia. — Japan 

Lieu Kieu 


- 


- 


Wonna, f., Wonago, f. 
Einago, f. 


Europe . — English 
Gothic 


- 


- 


Wench. 

Uen, f., Uens, f. 


South Africa 


- 


- 


Honnes, f. 


Asia. — Hebrew (as 
Koibal 


above) 


- 


A . n . sh, m., N . sh . e, f, 

Niausa, f. 



Words for ' Man, Woman,' fyc. — Class VII. 

FIRST MODIFICATION. 



South Africa. — Coronas 

Negroland - ' 

South America. — Muyscans 
Zamucans 

North America. — Shawannos 

Asia.— Heb. (A Body, A Person) 
Kamschatka 
Taraikai - 
Lasian - - 



Kouh, m., Kauh, m. 

Cow, m., Kea, m., Kaikjai, m. 

Koa, m., (plural.) 
Chha, m. 
Cheke, f. 

Ochechee, m. 

Gou . e. 
Okkaijuh, m. 
Okkai, m. 
Akadju, m. 



N. Africa. — Berbers fy Dongolans Agikh, m. 

'» Ng-ummi, and Ng-umbo, (Negro names for 'Man,') seem obviously to be com- 
pounds of the above words, < Ungi, Nga,' with Ommo, Uhm-to, <fec, another word 
for * Man, Woman/ &c, elsewhere noticed in this Analysis. 



58 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



Words applied chiefly to Nouns Feminine 
Asia. — Mantschu - 



S. America. — Zamucans (as above) 

North America. — Cochimi 

Europe. — English - 
German 
Latin Pronouns 



Chache, m., or Haghe, m., 
Cheche, f., or Heghe, f 

Cheke, f. 

Huagin, f. 

Hag, f. 

Hexe, f. 

Hie, m., Haec, f. 



SECOND MODIFICATION.* 



South Africa. — Hottentot Tribes - 



Europe. — Latin Pronouns 



Kouh, m., Kus, f., Kauh, m., 

Chai-sas, f. 
K'quique, m., K'quiqis, f. 
Quoique, m., Kyoiqui-s, f. 
Quai-scha, f. 

Qui, Quis, Quisque. 



South America. 



-Salivians 
Mobimans 



Cocco, M. 
Coucya, f. 

Hakke, h., Icquoi-s, f. 
Esqua, f., f Squaw/ f. 



N. America. — Alyonquyn dialects, 
(A Body, or Person) - 

It will be observed that in the previous African words, as also in the 
North American words introduced into the comparison, the Feminine is 
formed by adding the letter ' s/ (as in the English Prince-ss) ; a form 
which prevails widely in the most ancient languages of Europe. 



Asia. — Taraikai (as above) 


Okai, m. 


Negro-land - 


Okee-tu, f., Uk-assi, f. 


Asia. — Georgian 

Samoied (Men) 
Lasian 


Kasi, m. 
Chosowo. 
Goz, H. 


Europe. — Welsh 
Basque 


Gouas, m. 
Giuzona, m. 



Negro-land 



Guiguienne, f., Guiacar, m. 



* There is not, in every case, a regular or broadly marked distinction between these 
' Modifications,' which have been adopted to facilitate comparison rather than as being 
based on strictly philological grounds. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 59 

THIRD MODIFICATION. 

Negro-land - Jakkek, m., Ackala, m.* 

South America. — Caraibs - Oukele, h. 

North America. — Mexico - Oquichetle, h. 



Names for 'Man, Woman,' fyc. — Class VIII. 
[A Modification of Class VII.] 

Asia. — Hebrew (' Man,' as above) - Gou . e, or 

Gov, h. 
Pehlwi - Gebna, m. 

Samoied - Chubb, m., Chyb, m. 

South Africa. — Hottentots - Chaib, m., Kupp, m. 



Names for 'Man, Woman,' fyc. — Class IX. 

North Africa. — Egypt - - Hoout, h. 

Nubia fy Abyssinia" Odey, h. 
Otak, m. 
Negro-land. Ot ga, m., Ot-jee, f. 

Conformably to Home Tooke's principle, A . th . c ., 'Thou' {Hebrew,) 
may be regarded as identical with Otak, Ot ga-, Ot-jee, the above names for 
'Man, Woman/ &c. 

Asia. — Tribes on the ' Jenisei' River Had-kip, m. 
in Siberia - At-kub, m. 

Hutt, h., Hitt, h. 
Ket, h., Khitt, h. 

These words are composed of simple and of compound synonymes, both 
derived from the last two classes of words. 



* Najakala and Bacala, m. (Negro), seem to be compounds derived from Ackala and 
other roots. Ack-ala, Jakk-ela themselves seem to be compounds of * Kai, Hakke,' 
&c. (the class of words analysed above,) with Alo, &c terms for ' Man,' noticed in 
other parts of this Analysis. 



60 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



Names for ' Man, Woman/ fyc. — Class X. 



Negro-land 
Europe. — Icelandic 
Asia. — Kamschatka 



FIRST MODIFICATION. 

Mad, h., Made, h., Mutte, h 
Mad-ur, m. 
Math, f. 



SECOND MODIFICATION. 



Negro-land - 

Asia. — Zend. 

Taraikai 
Motorian 

Europe. — Sclavonian 
Latin. 
Armorican 

South America. — Muyscans 

Negro-land - - 

Europe. — Dalmatian 



Messhuhu, m., Muhsa, f. 
Musee, f. 

Meshio, m. 
Mazy, f. 
Misem, f. 

Mosh, m. 
Mas, m.* 
Maues, f. 

Muysca, m 

Mogee, h. 

Muux, m. 



Words for ( Man, Woman,' fyc. — Class XI. 



Negro-land - 
South Africa - 
South America. — Vilellans 



Ibalu, m., Belb, m., Obellima, u, 
Am-pele, f. 
Pele, h. 



* Mass-ari, Bass-ari, f. — South Africa. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



61 



Words for 'Man, Woman,' fyc. — Class XII. 

Europe. (Latin and Greek Pro- 'Is,' 'Os.' 
nouns, and terminations of 
Nouns) - 

Latin (To Be) - - Esse. 



Asm.— Hebrew ('To Be') 



Negro-land 



South Africa. — Hottentots 

Europe. — Greek (Life) 

(To live) 



E e . sh. 

A . ee . sh (Vir.) 

A . sh.e (Fcemina.)* 

Osse, h., See, h. 
Uzu, M.f 

Zohee, m., Zohee-s, f. 

Zo-e. 
Zoo. 



Names for 'Man, Woman; £c— Class XIII. 



Asia. — Afghan 
Zend 
Persian 
Sanscrit 

Europe. — Latin 



FIRST MODIFICATION. 

Meru, m. 
Merete, m. 
Mard, m. 
Mart-ja, m, 



Mari-tus, m., Mar-is. 



Asia. — Georgian 
Africa. —Negro-land 



SECOND MODIFICATION. 

K-mari, m. 
K&mere, m. 



THIRD MODIFICATION. 

Negro-land - - - Nuwo. h. 

North America.- Algon. dialects. M-marongh, h. 



* She — English. 



f Turkish— Uz, 'Self/ Himself, Myself- 



62 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



Words for 'Man, Woman? #-c— Class XIV. 

[Applied chiefly to the Female Sex.] 



FIRST MODIFICATION. 



Europe. — Greek (A Woman) 
Russian - 

Latin ('The Mother of 
the Gods') 

Asia. — Sanscrit - 

Negro-land 



Gun . e, f. 
Jena, f. 
'Juno. 5 



Jani, f. (Janoni, A Mother.) 
Jonnu, f., Djonnu, f., Junoo, f. : 



The identity of the Negro word ' Junoo' with the Latin ' Juno/ is a re- 
markable feature in this comparison. 

" Janoni, a Mother, in Sanscrit," it is observed in an able article in the 
Edinburgh Review, f " is the manifest origin of the Latin appellation of 
the mother of the Gods.' 3 



SECOND MODIFICATION 

Words for ' Woman. 9 

South America. — Mocobis - - Coenac, f. 

Cunia, f. 

Ankona, f. 



South Africa. — Hottentots 



* Negro-land 3 

Kento, f. 

Quinto, f. 

Tjendo, f., Diguen, f. 



Europe. 

Kwen, f. — Gothic. 
Gune, f. — Greek. 
Gean, f. — Gaelic. 
Koinne, f. — 
Koinnt, f. — 
Quinde, f. — Banish. 



* Two dominant ideas pervade the words of this class, viz. those of 1, Birth ; and 2, 
Existence in the abstract. As words expressive of ideas of the second class are regarded 
by philosophical writers as derivatives, the idea of Birth, as in the Greek words Genn-ao, 
Gun-e, Genn-etor, may be viewed as the primary and proper sense. 

t Vol. XIII., p. 373, Review of Wilkins's Sanscrit Grammar. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 63 

Words for 'Man,' (Vir and Homo.) 

FIRST MODIFICATION. 

Negro-land - Gonee, m. 

Asia. — Mongol - Kun, m. 

Jukadshires - Kun sch, m. 

SECOND MODIFICATION. 

South Africa - T'kohn, h.* 

N. America. — Algonquyn dialects Tchainan, h. 

Asia. — Core a - Tchin, h. 

Europe. — Irish and Welsh - Duine, h., Dean, h. 

• Negro-land — Dikkom, Dim, m., Tewe, f. ; Irish— Dae, M. <fe r. 



64 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



NAMES OF 'THE HAND. 



The African words of this Class collected by Adelung are thirty-six in 
number. Of these, twenty-nine belong to the languages of the region of 
pure Negroes. In the following Analysis the whole of these words have 
been shown to be related to analogous words used in the other great 
divisions of the Globe.* 



Names of ' The Hand.' — Class I. 



FIRST MODIFICATION. 

North America. — Mexico - - Tom. 



North Africa. — Nubia 


Tedembeton. ■ 


Europe.— Welsh (' To feel') 
English - 
German (The Thumb) 


Teim-law. 
'Thumb.' 
Daum. 


Asia. — Hebrew - 

(To perceive, discern, taste) 


Tom. 


Africa. — Hottentots (Tongue) - 


Tamma, and T'inn. 


Europe. — English - 


Tongue. 



There are numerous examples to show that the words for the Tongue 
and the Taste of the Palate are in many, if not in all cases, terms thus 
applied in a secondary sense, which, in their primary meaning, were ap- 
plied to ' The Hand,' and its Perceptive Functions. Compare the words 
which occur hereafter (under 'The Names for the Hand. — Class X.') 
Tusso, ' The Hand' (Negro) ; Dast, < The Hand' (Persian) ; Tast-en, ' To 
grope' (German); 'Taste' (English). 

• There are only two African words of this class, which have been left unnoticed in 
the analysis, viz. Blimozeh, ' The Hand,' a Negro word, apparently related to ' Bulla,' 
another Negro word for 'The Hand/ probably allied also to 'Pal-ma,' (Latin ;) and 
Neworeh. « The Hand, used by the Phellatahs, a tribe of North Africa, who inhabit a 
tract contiguous to Negro-land. These exceptions are too trifling to call for any quali- 
fication of the generality of the above statement. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



65 



The names for 'The Hand,' and its Functions, have also given rise to 
numerous words metaphorically expressive of mental operations, as in the 
above examples: Tom, 'The Hand' (Mexican); Tom, To Taste To 
Discern, Discernment, Judgment (Hebrew) ; Tam-ias, A Judge (Greek) • 
Doom, 'Dooms-day' (English). & v '' 



SECOND MODIFICATION. 

Negro-land - . Dinde, Ninde, Nindi. 

South Africa.— Madagascar - Tangh, Tangam, Tangan. 

Hottentots - T'unka. 

Asia.— Malays - - . Tangan. 

Tribes on the ' Jenisei' 

River, in Siberia - Togon, Tono. 

Kamschatka - - Tono. 

North America. — Hudson's Bay 

'The Hand' - Tene-law. 
'The Tongue - Tene-thoun. 

In these American dialects ' Tene' is a general prefix to the names of 
the senses; 'Law' is the distinctive name of the Hand; 'Toun' the dis- 
tinctive name of the Tongue, &c. 

Europe.— English - - Tongue. 

Latin Verbs - - Tang-o, Teneo. 



Names of ' The Hand.'— Class II. 
South Africa. — Coronas - - T'koam. 

North America. — Poconchi - Cam. 

Asia. — Hebrew (A Hand-fuR) - K . m . ts. 

(To grasp, To lay hold of) - K . m . t. 

Europe. — Welsh (To take) - Kum-meryd. 



Names of ' The Hand.' — Class III. 

Negro-land - Bulla. 

(Hand and Arm) - Bulla. 

Asia. — Persian (The Arm, - B 



6G 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



Negro-land 



Names of ' The Hand.' — Class IV. 
Obaa. 



Europe. — Gothic fy Anglo-Saxon 

(To have) - - Hab-an. 

Hab-ban. 
Latin - Hab-ere. 



Names of * The Hand. 9 — Class V. 
Negro-land - Ononuba. 

South America. — Mossans - Nubou, Nuboupe. 



Names of < The Hand.'— Class VI. 

North Africa. — Egypt. 

(The Hand and Front Arm) Koi. 
(The Hand) - - Gig. 



Negro-land - 


Kook Coco. 




Kogo. 




Okuh, Hukko, 


Europe. — Finland - 


Kchesi. 


Lapland 


Chketsch. 




Chkatsch. 


Hungarian 


Keez. 


Asia. — Arabic (Cubitus) 


Caa. 


Tamul (Hand) 


Kei. 


Georgian - 


Che. 


Persian - 


Kef, or Gef. 


Quasi Quumuq 


Kuja. 


Ossetian 


Koch, Kuch. 


N. America. — Nootka Sound 


Kook-elixo. 


Tschitketans 


Katchicou. 


Ugaljachmutsi 


Kajak-az. 


Senecas 


Kaschuchta. 


St. Barbara's 


Huachaja. 


S. America. — Araucans 


Cuu, Cuugh. 


Brazils 


Gepo. 


Yarurans 


Icchi-mo. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 67 



Names of ' The Hand:— Class VII. 

The following may be regarded as modifications of the foregoing Class 
of words : 

North Africa.— Egypt [Allied to 
Gig, ' The Hand,' {Egypt) 
above mentioned] - - Shig. 

South Africa. —Beetjuanas - Sseak-ja. 

Asia. — [Language of the Garrau 

Mountains, n.e. of Bengal] - Zjak. 
Georgian - Shi. 

Chinese Zj iu, Ziu. 

Sheu. 

N. America.— Fitzhugh Sound - Shou-shey. 

Negro-land - Aschi. 

Europe.— Basque - Escua. 

The words used in the last two Classes of examples as ' Names' for 
' The Hand/ may be identified in the most unequivocal manner in other 
instances, as Verbs descriptive of some distinctive Functions of the Hand. 

Compare Coco, Okuh, Hukko, Negro names for ' The Hand,' with the 
verbs K6, ' To take,' Ek-6, 'To hold, have, act' (Greek); Ago (Latin). 

Compare Aschi (Negro), Escua (Basque), with Esch-on, Isch-ein, 
Sch-ein, 'To hold,' 'To have* (Greek). 

Compare Katchicou, North American, and Chkatsch, Lapland, names 
for 'The Hand/ with 'Catch' (English). 

Compare Kef, or Gef (Persian), and Gepo 'The Hand' (Brazilian), 
with Give (English), Geb-en (German). 

Compare Kaschuchtah, North American, and Khesi, Fin, names for the 
Hand, with the verbs Keisio, 'To search for' (Welsh), Guess (English); 
verbs derived from G . sh, ' To feel, search for, with the Hand' (Hebrew). 



68 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



Names of ' The Hand.'— Class VIII. 

Asia. — Hebrew (The Hand and 

Forearm) - - A . m . e. 

Hebrew ( f A Finger,' r Ee . m . ee . n. 

' The Right Hand') jEe.m.n.e. 

v. Ee . m . ee . n . th. 

North Africa. — Egypt. 

(The Hand and Forearm) Mah, Mahe. 

South Africa. — Hottentots (Hand) Omma. 

South America. — Sapibocans - Erne. 
[See A . m . e (Hebrew) above.] 

Zamucans - Yumanai. 
[See Ee . m . n . e {Hebrew) above.] 

Salivians - Immomo. 



The following may be viewed as modifications of the previous words : * 
South Africa. — Lagoa Bay - Mundha. 

Europe. — Latin - Manus. 



Negro-land - 

South Africa. — Caffres 

Europe. — Latin (' Handle') 

Latin (To seize or hold) 
Danish, Icelandic, English, 

and German - 
Greek (To take) 

Asia, North. — Tribes on the 'JeniseV 
River, Siberia 



Names of < The Hand.'— Class IX, 
Ensah, Ensaa. 



Fansah. 

Ansa or Hansa.-f 
Pre-hendo. 

Haand, Hond, Hand. 
Chandano. 



Kenar, Kenaran. 



• On this subject the analysis of Manee and other analogous African words for ' Man. 
See also Observations on the Algonquyn Dialects of North America 

t ' Ansa, for Hansa,' supine of Hendo. whence « Pre-hendo' (Latin).— Valpv's Eton. 
Latin Diet. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



69 



Names of < The Hand:— Class X. 
North Africa. — Berber - - Idd-egh. 

Asia. — Hebrew and Arabic - Eed, led. 

Pehlwi - Jede-man.* 
Samoied, Koibal, and Moto- 

rian - Uda, Oda, Udam. 



Names of ' The Hand.'— Class XI. 



North Africa. — Phellatahs 
Negro-land - 

South Africa. — Hottentots of Sal- 
dana Bay - 



Youngo. 
Nakoa. 



Onekoa. 



North America. — Cochimi 


Nagona. 


Miamis 


Onexca. 




Enahkee. 


Iroquois 
Algon. dialects 


Eniage. 
Nachk. 




Naak. 


Europe. — English (Adroitness in 
any Handy-craft) 
English (Joints of the 
Fingers) 


Knack. 
Knuck-les. 


South America. — Maipurans 


Nucape. 



Names of ' The Hand: — Class XII. 

FIRST MODIFICATION. 

South Africa. — Bosjesmans - T'aa. 

North America. — Mixtecans - Daha. 

Europe.— Welsh (The Right Hand) Dahai. 



Apparently a compound of Eed or led, and Man-us 



70 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 

SECOND MODIFICATION. 

Asia. — Persian and Kurd - Da-st. 

Armenian - Tzjern. 

Negro-land - Tusso. 

Europe. — German (A Claw, a Paw) Tatze. 

German (To grope) - Tast-en. 
English (applied to the 

Palate) - - « Taste/ 

THIRD MODIFICATION. 

Asia. — Kamschatka - - Tegi. 

Europe.— English (A Verb) - < Take.' 

Asia. — Taraikai - Dek. 

Europe. —Latin (The Right Hand) Dex-tra. 

Greek (To take) - - Dekomai. 



Names of < The Rand. 9 — Class XIII. 
Negro-land ... - Be 

Asia. —Tribes on the Jenisei 3 Siberia Phjaga. 
Siam - Pfan. 

Europe. — Welsh ... Pau-en. 

English (applied to animals) Paw. 



South America. — Brazils 

Omaguans 


Poh, Po. 
Pua. 


North America.— Mic-Macs 


Peton. 


Names of ' The Hand. 1 — Clas 


FIRST MODIFICATION. 


Negro-land - 


Alo, Alio. 


Asia. — Turkish - 


Ell, Elli. 


Europe. — (An old Teutonic word 
applied to the Cubit, 
or Forearm) 
English - 


EU, EUe. 
El-bow. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



71 



Negro-land 
Europe. — Welsh 



SECOND MODIFICATION. 

Loho. 
La-o-u. 



America. — Chippewayans - Lah. 

Hudson's Bay (< The Hand') - Tene*-Law. 

('The Tongue') Tene-Thoun. 

THIRD MODIFICATION. 

Negro-land (Allied to the Negro 
word Loho, ' The Hand/ 

above) ... Loco. 

North America. — Penobscot - Oleechee; 

Asia. — Tibet ... Lag. 

Georgian - Cheli. 

Europe. — English (Applied to 

animals) Claw. 

Irish (The Hand) - Glak. 

Asia. — Ingumian - Kulku. 



FOURTH MODIFICATION. 



Europe. — Greek (The Hand and 
Front Arm, the Cubit) - 

N. America. — Pennsylvania 

New Sweden 



Ole n . e. 

Olcenskam. 
Alcen-skam. 
Olcenskan. 
Alcenskan. 



• Tene in this dialect is prefixed to the names of the senses generally. Law, for in- 
stance, is the distinctive name of ' The Hand, 5 Thoun is that of ' The Tongue,' obviously 
connected with ' Tongue/ {English, 



/2 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



WORDS FOR 'THE TONGUE.' 

In the following Analysis all the South African words, and also all the 
Negro words of this class, with the exception of ' Teckramme,' (probably 
a compound,) have been shown to be unequivocally connected with im- 
portant analogous terms in the languages of the other great Continents. 

{South Africa, — Tamma Tamme, T'inn.*) See these words illustrated 
among the words for ' The Hand.' See also, under the same head, for 
examples of the principle that the words applied to ' The Tongue,' and its 
Perceptive Functions, are in many, if not in most cases, secondary or 
Metaphorical applications of words originally applied to ' The Hand,' and 
its Perceptive Functions; as in Tasten, 'To grope,' German; 'Taste,' 
applied to the 'Palate,' English. The next words present additional 
examples of the same principle. 

Negro-land — Lamai, Lammegue, Lamin, Laming. 

Gaelic — Lam, ' The Hand ;' Greek — Lam-bano, ' To take ;' Latin — 
Lam-bo, To lick with the Tongue. 

Negro-land — Dali ;f Malays of Formosa — Dadila ; Turkish — Dil ; North 
Am erica { Nagailers) — Thoida . 

South Africa {Madagascar, fy Caffres) — Leila, Leula, Lolemi; North 
America {Penobscot) — ^Vee-laulo ; Greek — Laleo, ' To speak ;' Lalia, 
' Speech.' 

Negro-land — Ning; Georgian — Nina; La-sian— Nena, Nen ; South America 
{Kiriri) — Nunu. 

Egypt — La sh ; Hebrew — L . sh . ou . n ; Armenian — Ljesu ; South Africa 
{Caffres) — Loodjem. 

Negro-land — Essienko ; Old German — Zunka; Modern German — Zunge.J 

South Africa {Koossas) — Miime ; Chinese — Mi ; Basque — Mihia, Minni. 

North Africa {Berbers) — Xarka ; South America {Maupurian) — Nuore : 
Caraibs — Nourou. 

North Africa (Dongolan) — 'S&dk&; South America {Betoan)—Inec&. 

•'Demgall, Dein gall' (Fu/a/is and Phellatahs, North Africa), seem to be com- 
pounds of these word*, with another root. 

t Delemme (Xegro-hind), 'The Tongue,' seem* to be a compound of the second 
and third classes. 

% Pehlwi, < Hosuan.' The close connexion between the German and the Pehlwi, and 
the other dialects of Persia, is indisputable. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 73 



WORDS FOR 'THE EAR.' 

Negro-land — Szemman-ko ; Hebrew — Sh . m . o, 'To hear.' 

Negro-land — Asse Asshabe ;* Abyssinia — Ishenha Ashenha; Hebrew— 
A . z . n. 

Negro-land— Uwasso ; Bohemian— Ussi; Greek— Ouas, Ous. 

Negro-land— Otuh (Otto, 'Ears'); Greek— Ota ('Ears'); North America 
(Knistenaux) — Otoweegie. 

South Africa (Cajfres) — Gevea; Kurd— Guh; Samoied— Ko, Kuo. 

North Africa {Berbers) — Ukkega; Sclavonian— Ucho; North America 
(Shawannos) — Oc\itowdigdi; Greek— Akou-o ('To hear'). 

iVorM Africa (Dongola)is) — Uluk ; Coriac — Wilugi; Chinese— Uhl. 

South Africa— T'no-eingtu, T'naum, T'nunka; Bucharian— Dehan. 

Eyypt— Meeje; Japan— Mimi. 

Negro-land— 'Toy; Esquimaux— Tehui; Brazil— Ty. 

The majority of the words of the next two Classes (names of ' The Foot' 
and ' The Head,') Mill be found to admit of a satisfactory explanation. 
The exceptions are more numerous than in the instance of the words for 
' The Hand ;' but it must be borne in mind that these exceptions do not 
at all serve to invalidate the inferences that flow from numerous unequivocal 
examples of a different nature. This combination of many features of 
difference with numerous points of resemblance is the direct result of the 
tendency of each race to abandon a portion of the synonymes originally 
common to all the various races of mankind. 

• South Africa, Zebe, &c. 



74 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



WORDS FOR 'THE FOOT/ 

Negro-land— (Foot and Leg) Sing ; German — Schenkel ; English — Shank . 

South Africa (Hottentots) — Coap and Tkeib ; Afghan— Chpe ; Abassian 
— Sh pe ; South America (Mokobis) — Capiate. 

Negro-land — Trippe ; German — Tripp-en, ' To go/ Treppen (' Steps') 
English— 'Trip.' 

Negro-land— Itta; Latin— It-er, 'A Journey,' It-um, 'Gone;' the par- 
ticiple of the Latin verb Eo, 'To go ;' Zend— Jeieta, ' He goes.' 

S.Africa (Hottentots) — Y and Yi ; Egypt— I, 'To go ;' Latin— Eo, 'I go.' 

South Africa (Hottentots) — Ir-qua; South America (Zamucans) — Irie; 
Latin— Ire, 'Togo;' Zend— Harra, ' I go.' 

Negro-la)id—Gsnm; Greenland— Kannak; Germa n — Gehen, 'To go,' 
(Gegangen, 'Gone'); Scotch— Gang; Negro-land— It-genge ; appa- 
rently a compound of the last with a word previously explained. 

Negro-land — Nugee; Sclavonic -^-Noga; South America QIaupurians) — 
Nuchii, Nucsi. 

Egypt— Kit; Welsh-Rodio, 'To walk.' 

Negro-land— Afo ; South America (Yilellans)—k$k; Latin— P e, Pe-s. 

North Africa (Fulahs and Phellatahs) — Kiissengal, Kavassongal; Jeni- 
seians— Kassa ; Mingrelian — Kutchi; TFelsh — Koes, 'A Leg;' North 
America (Shawannos) — Kussie . 

Negro-land— Akkau, Ugod; n. w. of America and n. e. of Asia 
(Tschuktsches) — Iguk ; (Kadjak) — Igugu ; Turkish— Ajak, Ajag. 

Negro-land— Kulu, Kolo ; Mongol— Kull, Koll. 

Negro-land— Tangue ; AVM America (Mixtecan) — Tohuan ' Feet ;' South 
Africa— Tooh ; English — Toe; Saxon — Da; Butch — Deen. 

Nubia— Regget ; Hebrew— Jl . g . 1. 

S. Africa— -Lefack; English— Leg; Wogul—Lagjl; Pehlwi— Lager-man. 

Negro-land— E'ns-zih, and (Caffre) En-jau, appear to be allied to the 
Latin — Eo, Eundo ; Italian— And-are ; English— Wend, Went: 
German — Wenden. 

South Africa — Roots; Armenian— Oat, Woat; TTelsh — Wad-n; German — 
Wad-en, 'Togo;' English— 'Wade ;' Latin — ' Yad-o.' 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 75 



WORDS FOR 'THE HEAD/ 

Negro-land— Kung, Koon, Ikkungee, Ukkoong; Brazilian— Acang, 
Yahange; Irish— Ken; {German— Konig; English— King, i.e. 'A 
Head.') 

South Africa— Olo, Loha; Hebrew— 01, 'Above,' 'To ascend;' Motonan 
-Ulu, 'A Head.' 

tfowM Africa — Klogo; Irish— Kloigean; ZPi?M— Ben-glog, 'A Skull;' 
Hebrew— Q . 1 . g . 1 . th, (The Human Skull, Golgotha) ; Armenian— 
Kluch; Jeniseians— Kolka;* Sclavonian— Golowa 'A Head.' 

Egypt— Kahi, Jo; Negro-land— Go, Ko, Kujuoo; iSWA 4A ?ca ~~K6hho; 
Jeniseians — Ko'igo ; German — Kopf . 

Negro-land— Ta, Tu; <SWA 4/™ Cfl! — Dooha; Georgian— T'awi; Chinese 
— T'eu; North Jsnerica (Nagailers) — Thie. 

Negro-land— Tabu ; Persian — Tab, ('Top;') German— Topp ; iVo^A 
America (Mohegans)— Dup, Utup, ('Head.') 

Fulahs and Phellatahs—Uore, Horde ; Hebrew— Or, 'To rise.' 

SWA 4/"ma (Hottentots)— Biquaau; <SWA America (Aymarans) — 
Pegke; iVor^A America (New England)— Bequoquo ; English— Feak, 
Beak. 

Hottentots— Minung ; Chinese— Mien, 'The Face;' English— ' Mien,' 
and French—' Mine.' 

Negro-land— Oitju, Ithu ; <SWA America (Zamucans) — Yatoitac ; Welsh— 
Yaad; English— Head, Height. 

Negro-land— Boppe, Bapp ; Som^ America (Yaoans)— Boppe ; (Caraibs) 
— Opoupou; North America (JFoccorcs)— Poppe. 

South Africa (Hottentots)- T'naa ; Jsfe o/ilfara-Tchynn. 
• Hence, apparently, Lucko, Loko,— -Sow^A Africa. 



76 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



WORDS FOR ' WATER. 



Class I. 



South Africa. — Hottentots 



Europe. 



-Russian 
Swedish 
English 
Latin ('Moist') 



N. America. — Algonquyn dialects 
Cora ('The Sea') 
Mexico ('The Sea') 



Ouata. 

Ouade. 
Wat-n. 

Wat-er, 'Wet.' 
Ud-us. 

Wt-achsu. 

Vaat.* 

Veyat-1. 



It will be observed that the root or common base of all these words is 
the same as that of 'Wet, Wat-er,' {English.) They differ only in those 
grammatical inflexions in which various words of the same language 
differ. 



Words for ' Water:— Class II. 
North Africa. — Egypt (' Aquae') - Eiooue. 

North America. - 



•Woccons 

Cheerokees 

Muskohges 



Eau.f 
Auwa. 
Wevra. 



Europe. — Welsh - - - Wy, or Gwy. 

[Hence the name of the River] ' The Wye.' 



Icelandic 
Anglo-Saxon 

Asia. — Kamschatka - 
Samoied 

Negro-land ... 

South America. — Guaranian 
Brazilian 



Aa. 

Ea, Eia4 

Ja, Ii. 
Ii, I. 

Ji. 

I, I. 
Y. 



• 'Water,' Abti, Cora, — Atl, Mexico. 
t Eau, ' Water,' French. 
X la, 'Ice,' Welsh. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 

Words for < Water:— Class III. 
North America. — Chikkasahs - kah, Ookaw. 

Europe. — Irish - Oixe. 

Latin - - - Aqua. 

South America. — Quicuans - Yacu. 



Words for 


< Water:— Class FV 


South America. — Quicuans 
Negro-land - 


Unu. 
Nu. 


N. America. — Kolushians - 
Negro-land - 


Iin, Jin. 
Inssuo, Ensu. 



Words for « Water.'— Class V. 

[The words of this Class appear to be compounds of words of the last 
two Classes.] 

Compare the previous words for Water, viz. : 
Europe — Irish ... Oixe, 

North America — Chikkasahs - Okah, Ookaw, 

with the following words : 

North America. — Oneiaas - Oghnacauno. 

Europe. — Greek and Latin. keano, or 

(The Ocean) - - Okeano-s. 

North America. — Senecas - - Oneekanoosh. 

Muynckussar - Oneegha. 

Asia. — Anam - Nuock, Nak. 

Coriac (The Sea) - - Anchon, Ancho. 

Negro-land - Enchion.* 

• There are other analogous words,— Endschey, 'Water/ Negro-land, -Elite, ' A 
Duck,' i.e. 'A Water Fowl/ German. 



78 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 

Words for ' Water?— Class VI. 
South Africa. — Gallas - - Bischan. 



Asia. — Circassian - 
Kurilians - 
Samoied - 


Pishi. 
Pi, Peh. 
Bi, Be. 


North America. — Belawares 

New Sweden - 


Beh. 
Bij. 


Europe. — Greek (To drink) 
Z#£m (To drink) 


Pi-6. 
Bi-b-o. 


Words for ' Water.'— Class VII. 


Negro4and - 


Asioue.* 


Asia. — Jieso - 

Chinese - 
Turkish - 


Azui.-f 
Shui. 
Schuy, Su. 



North America. — Bunsienes - Ziy. 



Words for ( Water.'— Class VIII. 
North Africa. — Bongolans - Esseg. 

Europe. — Irish or Gaelic - - Eask, Uisge. 
Welsh or Celtic of Britain. 
[British Names of Streams] - The ' Esk,' The ' Usk.' 

These Celtic words are the chief basis of Edward Llwyd's theory, that 
the Britons were preceded by a Gaelic tribe, who gave names to these 
streams. The extreme antiquity of these words is certain : 

Swedish (To wash) - Wasc a. 

Old German - Wask-en, Wasc-an. 

* Mongol, Usu ; Tibet, ' Tschu.' 
t North America {Azanax), Esleaes. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



79 



The following five Classes of words, from VIII. to XIV., may be re- 
garded as mutually connected. 

Words for * Water.'— Class IX. 



FIRST MODIFICATION. 



North Africa. — Abyssinia - 
Egypt 
Egypt (Seas) 

Negro-land (Water) - 

Asia. — Chinese - 

Pehlwi - 
Hebrew - 

Hebrew (The Sea) 
Japan (The Sea) - 
Arabic (Water) 

South America. — Vilellans 
Aymarans 

North America. — Cherokees 

[Compare the above Negro 
word Am6h.] 



Mi, Me. 
Moou, Mau. 
Amaiou. 

Ameh. 

Moi, Mui. 

Mea. 

Me, (Meem). 

Ee . am, or Jam. 

Umi. 

Ma. 

Ma. 
Huma. 

Amma. 



Europe. — Latin - - - Hum-or. 

Adjective, 'Wet' - Hum-idus. 
[Compare Huma, c Water.' 

South American, above ; and Umi, [' The Sea,' (Japan), above.] 



Words for 


< Water: — Class X 


Negro-land - 


Mage. 


North America.— Greenland 

Tschuktsches 


Imack. 
Emak, Mok. 


South America. — Araucan 


Mouke. 


\ Europe.— Latin §- English 
English 


Muc-us. 

Muggy. 



Asia.— Hebrew (To flow, dissolve) M . g. 



80 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



Words for ' Water:— Class XL 



North Africa. — Egypt (To irrigate, 
To drink) - - - 


Matsos. 


Negro-land, Water 


Mazei. 
Mazia. 
Masa. 


South Africa - 


Maasi, Meetsi. 
Matee. 


Asia. — Japan - - - 


Mizzu, Midz. 




Misi. 


Europe. — Latin (Wet) 
English - 


Mad-idus. 
'Mizzle/ Moist, 
Mist. 



Words for ' Water.'— Class XII. 



North Africa. — Berbers 

Egypt (Ram) 
(A Torrent, A Stream) 

South Africa. — Caffre Tribes 



Amanga. 
Mounoshe. 
Mouns-o r . em. 

Amaansi. 
Amaanzu. 



N. America. — Nadowessians 

Asia, — Koibal (A Stream) 
Chaldee (Waters) - 

Europe. — Latin (To flow) 



Mena, Meneh. 

Meanlai. 
Main. 

Man-o. 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



81 



Names for < Water.'— Class XIII. 

[Apparently connected with Class IX.] 

Asia.— Heb. 'The Sea,' (as above) Jam, or Ee . am, 
Tibet ('The Sea') - - Gjiamzo. 

Kurd (A Stream) - - Tcham. 



South Africa. — Hottentot Tribes 
(Water) 



Kam, Kamme, Tkamme. 



Words for < Water.' —Class XIV. 
Negro-land - Koro. 

North Africa.— Afnu - - Grua. 



Asia. — Pelu (' Rain') 
Tuschi ('Rain') 
Kalmuck (Rain) 
Armenian (Water) 



Chuura. 
Kare. 
Chura. 
Tschu r.* 



Words for « Water.' -Class XV. 

N. Africa. —Egypt (A Stream) - Eioor. 
(Water) - Eron. 

South Africa. — Madagascar - Rano, Rana. 

Ranu. 

Europe. — English - Rain, 

and Anglo-Saxon ' Pluvia* Ren. 

Greek 'Flowing' (ap- 
plied to Water) - - Rheon. 

Celtic (The name of a 

stream in Gaul) - - 'The Rhone.'f 



• Dour, Water, {Welsh) ; Jura, « The Sea,' (Lettish.) Ejern (Aoyssinian), * Water,' 
seems also to be connected with < Tschur, 'Jura,' &c. 

t Many examples serve to show that the names of Streams, &c, in Gaul, as preserved 
by the French, are in many instances more faithful transcripts of the original Celtic ap- 
pellations than the names preserved by Latin writers. 



82 



COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES. &C. 



Negro-land 



Words for < Water: -Class XVI. 

Doc, Dock, M'dock. 



Asia. — Tribes on the ' Jenisei' River, 

Siberia - Dok. 

Kamschatka (The Sea) - Adiicka. 

Europe. — English (' To put under 
water,' ' A water-fowl,' — 
Dr. Johnson) - - Duck. 

S. Africa.— Hottentots (Water) - Tkohaa. 



The following words for ' Water' seem also to be unequivocally related 
viz.: Basque — Itsassoa; Negro-land — Itchi; Samoieds — Ija, Ja; Sout 
America (Cayubabans) — Y\at2i; North America (Katahbans) — Ejau. 



END OF APPENDIX A. 



APPENDIX B. 



CONTAINING 



(ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE TRIBES AND REGIONS OF AFRICA) 

THE 

AFRICAN WORDS COMPARED IN APPENDIX A, 
WITH THE CORRESPONDING TERMS 

IN THE 

LANGUAGES OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 



84 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 



AFRICAN WORDS GEOGRAPHICALLY ARRANGED. 



FIRE, SUN, DAY, EYE, MOON, HEAVEN. 



North Africa. 

Egypt. — ' Fire/ Chrom, Grom, Krom, K6h-th, from Koe, ' To burn.' 
' Sun,' Ra, Re. * Names of the Gods of the Sun,' Khem, Hor, 
Serapis, Osiri. 'Day/ Haou, Eoohu, — (connected with 'Glory,' 
Joh, Ooh, Oih, and ' Moon,' Oou, ' Lunus/ Joh.) ' Eye,' Iri, Bal. 
'Moon/ Joh, Oou. 'Heaven,' Pe, Phe, plural 'Heaven-s/ Neth-phe,f 
Ne-pheou. ' Name of the Goddess of the Heavens, or Firmament,' 
Net-phe. 

Nubia and Abyssinia. — ' Fire,' Haiiy (Abyss.) ; Ton-ih, (Xub.) ' Sun,' 
Tuahhey (Abyss.) ; Toin, (Nub.) ' Day,' Maaltih (Abyss.) ; Wtirabe, 
(Nub.) ' Eye/ Aineha (Abyss.) ; Aina addela, Egoat, (Nub.) 
' Moon/ "Wurrhy (Abyss.) ; Totrig, (Nub.) ' Heaven/ Szemmey 
(Abyss.) ; Tebre, (Nub.) 

A A 

Berbers and Dongolans. — ' Fire/ Ika (Ber.) ; Ik, (Don.) ' Sun/ 
Maschekka (Ber.) ; Masilk, (Don.) ' Day/ Ogreska (Ber.) ; 
Ogreska, (Don.) 'Eye/ Manga (Ber.) ; Missigh, (Don.) 'Moon/ 
O'nateja (Ber.) ; Scharappa, (Don.) ' Heaven/ Szemma (Ber.) ; 
Szemma, (Don.) 

Phellatahs and Fulahs. — 'Fire/ Njite (Phel.) ; Gia-hingol, (Ful.) 'Sun/ 
Nonge (Phel.) ; Nahangue, (Ful.) ' Day/ Njellauma, (Phel.) 
' Eye,' Giteh (PAeZ.) ; Hyterr, (Ful.) 'Moon/ Liulii (Phel.) ; Leoure, 
(FwJ.) ' Heaven/ Szemma (Phel.) ; Hyalla, (*W.) 

• The following Egyptian words are also included in the previous Analysis :— ' Flame,' 
Shah; • Heat,' Shah-sbah ; ' A Star,' Sou, Siou ; ' Light Luminary,' Ouoini ; ' Flame/ 
L p s h ; 'To burn,' Lopsh ; ' The Dawn,' Iris. 

t Like the Greek, Ouranoi, ' A singular-plural.' 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 85 

Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 

Negro-land. 

Jolofs and Sereres.—' Fire/ Safara, (Jol.) < Sun/ Ghiante-finkan, 
Guiante, Burhum safara (Jol.) ; Fosseye, (Ser.) < Day/ Lelegh, 
Huer, Benhuli, (Jol.) ' Eye/ Smabutt, Batte, Guitte, (Jol.) 
< Moon/ Uhaaire, Verr, Burhum safara lionn (Jol.) ; Coll, (Ser.) 
1 Heaven/ Assaman, Assamane (Jol.) ; Rogue, (Ser.) 

Mandingoes. — ' Fire/ Deemwa. * Sun/ and also ' Day/ Teelee. « Day/ 
Teelee. ' Eye/ Neay. « Moon/ Korro, Pandintee. « Heaven/ 
Santo. 

Jalunkan and Sokko.— < Sun/ Telle (Ja/.) ; Tillee, (#o£.) 'Moon/ 
Karree (/a/.) ; Kalla, (#o£.) ' Heaven/ Margetangala (Jal.) ; 
Bandee, (&>£.) 

Kanga, Mangree, and Gien. — ' Sun/ Jiro (Kan.) ; Lataa (Man.) ; Jinaa, 
(Gt<?w.) 'Moon/ Tjo (.fam.) ; Su, (Geerc.) 

J'Ww, Fanti, and Gold Coast. — < Fire/ Edja, (Fetu.) ' Sun/ Egwju 
(i^w.) ; Uwia, (G. Coast.) < Day/ Ada, (Fetu.) ' Eye/ Enniba, 
(Fetu,) ; Eniba, (G. Coast.) * Moon/ Osran (Teta) ; Assara (G. 
Coast.) ' Heaven/ *Araiani (Fetu) ; * Njame, (Fanti.) 

Amina, Akkim, and Akripon. — c Sun/ Eiwiaa (Am.) ; Awia (Jf£.) ; Ou, 
(Akr.) ' Moon/ Osseram (^fm.) ; Osseranni (^Ar.) ; Ofendi, (Akr.) 
' Heaven/ Jankombum (A.) ; Jahinee (Ak.) ; Aduankam, (Akr.) 

Akrai and Tambi. — ' Fire/ La, (Ak.) ' Sun/ Hun (Ak.) ; Pum, (Tam.) 
' Eye/ Hinma, (4£.) * Moon/ Dubliman (Ak.) ; Horambi, (Tam.) 
' Heaven/ Jankombum (4£.) ; Nguai (A k.) ; Ngoi [which means 
also, « Thunder in the Air/] (J$.) ; Giom, (Tam.) 

Widah, Papah, and Watje.—'Swi; Wetaga (Pap.) ; Ua, (Wat.) 'Eye,* 
Noucou [plural], (Wid.) ■ Moon/ Su-ede, (Pop.) ' Heaven/ 
Jiwel, (Pap.) 

• Omitted in previous Analysis : Araiani, 'Heaven' (Feta); Ouran-os, 'Heaven* 
(Gree/t); Enniba, Eniba [above], < Eye.' [See Appendix A, pp. 42, 43.] Njame, see 
Djau, 'Heaven/ 'Air' (Sanscrit); Ada, 'Day' (Fetu); from Edja, 'Fire,' Egwju, 
'Sun' (Fetu;. 



£G COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 

Fire, Sun, Bay, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 

Kongo and Angola. — * Fire/ Tubhia (Kon.) ; Tubia (Kon. fy Ang.) ; 
Bazou, {Kon.) ' Sun/ N'tzai, Tangu, (Kon.) ■ Moon/ Gonde, 
Gonda, (Kon.) ' Heaven/ Sullu (Kon.) ; Ulu, (Ang.) 

Loango, Mandongo, and Camba. — * Fire/ Bazu, (Lo.) ' Sun/ Tangoa 
(Lo.) ; Attaschi (Man.) ; Tango, (Cam.) ' Moon/ Gonda (Lo.) ; 
Agonne (Man.) ; Gonda, (Cam.) ' Heaven/ Iru (Lo.) ; Sambiam- 
pungo (Man.) ; Julo, (Cam.) 

Karabari, Ibo, and Mokko. — ' Sun/ Anjam (Ka.) ; A-un, Anjau (Ibo) ; 
Eju, (Mok.) 'Moon/ Omma (Ka.) ; Ongma, Aoueh (Ibo); Affiam, 
(Mok.) ' Heaven/ Elukwee (Ka.) ; Tschukko, EUu (Ibo) ; 
Ibanju, (Mok.) 

Wawu and Tembu. — 'Sun/ Jirri (Wa.) ; Wis, (Tern.) 'Moon/ Mone 
(Wa.); Igodu, (Tern.) 'Heaven/ Barriadad (Wa.) ; So, (Tern.) 

Krepeers, Ashantees, and Kassenti. — ' Fire/ Dio (Kre.) ; Egia, (Ash.) 
' Sun/ Uwin, (Kas.) c Eye/ Onuku (Zre.) ; Wannua, (AsA.) 
' Moon/ Ungmar, (Kas.) * Heaven/ Ktak, (Kas.) 

Afadeh.—' Fire/ Hu. ' Sun/ Zu. « Day/ Phadeenszo. * Eye/ Szanko. 
'Moon/ Tedi. 'Heaven/ Dilko. 

Mobba and Schilluck. — 'Yire,' Wussik (Mob.); Massze, (Sch.) 'Sun/ 
Engik (Mob.); Roongeh, (Sch.) 'Day/ Dalkah, (Mob.) 'Moon/ 

A 

Uk, (Mob.) ' Heaven/ Szemma, (Mob.) 

Bar Fur and Bar Runga. — ' Fire/ Otu (Bar F.) ; Nissiek, (Bar R.) 
' Sun/ Duleh (Dar F.) ; Agning, (Bar R.) ' Day/ Lo (D<fr F.) 
' Eye/ Nunjieh (Dar i? 1 .) ; Khasso, (Bar R.) ' Moon,' Kanimer 
(Bar F.) ; Medding, (Bar R.) ' Heaven/ Szemma, (Bar F.) 






WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 87 

Fire, Sun, Day, Eye, Moon, Heaven. 

South Africa. 

Gallas. — 'Fire/ Ibida. 'Heaven/ Ivaq. 

Madagascar. — ' Fire,' Lelaffu. ' Sun/ Masso anro, Masso androu. (Eye 
of Day), Massoam, Massoanrii. * Day/ Arcik ando Majava, Antu, 
Andru. « Eye/ Massou, Massoo, Masso, Massorohi. « Moon/ 
Woelau, Volan, Bo, Bolan, Volan. 'Heaven/ Atemco, Danghitsi, 
Langhitsi, Lainch, Langhits. 

Koossa, Beetjuanas, Lagoa Bay, and Caffres. — ' Fire/ Umlilo (Koos.) ; 
Mulelo (Beet.); Lib, Leaw, (Caf.) ' Sun/ Manga, (Koos.); 
Leetshaatsi (Beet.) ; Diambo (Lag. B.) ; Lelanga, Eliang, (Caf.) 
'Day/ Imine (Koos.) ; Motsichari, (Beet.) 'Eye/ Amesligo (Koos.); 
Liklo (Beet.) ; Tewho, (Lag. B.) ' Moon/ Injanga (Koos.) ; Kohri 
(Beet.) ; Moomo (Lag. B.) ; Janga, Inyango, (Caf.) ' Heaven/ 
Isuhlu (Koos.) ; Maaro, (Beet.) 

Bosjemans, Coronas, Hottentots, and Saldanna Bay. — ' Fire/ Tjih (Bos.) ; 
T'aib (Cor.) ; T'ei, T'ei eip, Neip, Ecy, Ei, (Hot.) ' Sun/ T'koara 
(Bos.) ; Sorohb (Cor.) ; Sore, Sorrie, Sorre, Sorri, Surrie (Hot.) ; 
Sore, (Sal. B.) 'Day/ T'gaa, (Bos.) ; Sorokoa, (Cor.) 'Eye/ 
T'saguh (Bos.) ; Muhm (Cor.) ; Mo, Mu, Mum, Moe, (Hot.) 
' Moon/ T'kaukaruh (Bos.) ; T'khaam (Cor.) ; K'cha, T'ga, ToM, 
Ka (Hot.) ; Gam, (Sal. B.) ' Heaven/ T'gachuh (Bos.) ; Homma, 
(Sal. B.) 



88 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANOTJAGES. 



MAN, WOMAN, HUMAN BEING. 



[m. marks Nouns Masculine; f. Nouns Feminine ; h. words for a 
Human Being, whether Male or Female.] 



North Africa. 

Egypt. — Hoout, m. and h., Himc, f., Himi, f., Lomi, f. and h.* 

Abyssinia and Nubia. — Szebbat, h. (Ab.); Odey, h. {Nub.) ; Szcbbey, 
m. (Ab.) ; Auadseh, m., Otak, m. (Nub.) ; Szebbeity, f. (Ab.) ; 
Indaki', f., Tetakkat, f. (Nub.) 

Berbers and Dongolans. — Ademga, m. (Ber.) ; Ogikh, m. (Don.); Edinga, 
f. (Ber.) ; Enga, f. (Don.) 

Phellatahs and Fulahs. — Nekdo, h., Gurko, m. (Phel.) ; Gorko mahodo, 
M. (Ful.) ; Debbo, f. (Phel.) ; Debo, f. (Ful.) 



Negro-land. 

s and S'ereres. — Gour, h., Garr, h. (Iol.) ; Core, h. (Ser.) ; 
Goourgne, m., Guiacar, m., Guiaccar, m. (Iol.) ; Cow, m. (Ser.) ; 
Digin, f., Guiguienne, f., Diguen, f. (Iol.) ; Tewe, f. (Ser.) 

. — Mo, h., Kea, m., Fato, m., Musha, f. 

Jallunkans and Sokko. — Mogee, h. (Jal.) ; Manni, h. (Sob.) ; Kai, M. 
(Jal.) ; Kja, m. (Sok.) ; Musee, f. (Jal.) ; Mussu, f. (Sok.) 

• Also A . nah, « To live,' (Auok I.)—E*pt. 



"WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 89 

Man, Woman, Human Being. 

Kanga, Mangree, and Gien. — Ngumbo, h. {Kan.) ; Mia, h. (Man.) ; 
Me, h. (Gien) ; Nebeju, m. (Kan.) ; Laniu, m. (Man.) ; Unsoibe, m. 
(Gien) ; Junoo, f. (Kan.) ; Auwee, f. (Man.) ; Lung, f. (Gien). 

Fetu, Fanti, and Gold Coast. — Enipa, h. (Fanti) ; Nipa, h., Baning, m., 
Bubasja, f. (Fetu) ; Hiro, f. (6r. Coast.) 

Amina, Akkim, and Akripon. — Ojippa, h. (Am.) ; Nippa, h. (Akkim) ; 
Osse, h. (Akri.) ; Obaini, m. (Am.) ; Obellima, m. (Akkim) ; Unji, 
M. (Akri.) ; Obbaa, f. (Am.) ; Obia, f. (Akkim) ; Otjee, (Akri.) 

Akrai and Tambi. — Biomo, h., Biommo, h. (A k.) ; Numero, h. (Tarn.) ; 
Nu, m. (Ak.) ; Njummu, m. (Tarn.) ; Nga, f., In, f. (Ak.) 

Papah, and Watje. — Emme, h. (Pap.) ; Ammee, h. (Wat.) ; Mes- 
subu, m. (Pap.) ; Uzu, m. (Wat.) ; Djonnu, f. (Pap.) ; Jonnu, f. 
(Wat.) 

Kongo. — Eiecala-muntu, h., Mundu, h., Ackala, m., Jakkela, m., Bacala, 
m., Kentu, f., Quinto, f. 

Loango, Mandongo, and Camba. — Mond, h. (Lo.) ; Matte, h. (Man.) ; 
Monami, h. (Cam.) ; Bakala, m., Bakkara, m. (Lo.) ; Najalaka, m. 
(Man.) ; Olummi, m. (Cam.) ; Kento, f., Tjendo, f. (Lo.) ; Okeetu, 
f. (Man.) ; Ukassi, f. (Cam.) 

Karabari, Ibo, and Mokko.—M&d, h. (Kar.) ; Made, h. (Ibo.) ; Auwo, H. 
(Mok.) ; Mammoku, m. (Kar.) ; Mook, m., Dikkom, m., Dim, m., 
(Ibo) ; Iden, m. (Mok.) ; Mangman, f. (Kar.) ; Mai, f., Wei, f. 
(Ibo) ; Wan, f. (Mok.) 

Wawu and Tembu.—See, h. (Wa.) ; Iraa, h. (Tern.) ; Gonee, m. (Wa.); 
Ibalu, m. (Tern.) ; Anna, f. (Wa.) ; Alo, f. (Tern.) 

Kassenti. — Umir, h., Otga, m., Uppi, f. 

Affadeh.— Magu, h., Belo, m., Kerim, f. 

Schilluck.— Tabanje, m.. Ureli, f. 

Bdr FUr and Ddr Runga.—Koi, h., Dueh, m. (D. Fur.) ; KamSre, M. 
(D. Run.) ; Jankueh, f. (D. Fur.) ; Mmi, f. (D. Run.) 



90 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 

Man, Woman, Human Being. 

South Africa. 

Madagascar. — Oelun, h., Olon, h., Urun, h., Lelay, m., Lahe, m., 
Orrang, m., Vaiave, f., Bayave, f., Ampele, f. 

Koossas, Beetjuanas, Lagoa Bay, and Caffres. — Uhmto, h. (Koos.) ; 
Muhnto, h. (Beet.) ; Monhee, h. (L. Bay) ; Moniina, m, (Beet.) ; 
Indoda, m. (Koos.) ; Doda, m., Abaandoo, m. (Caf.) ; Umfasi, f. 
(Koos.) ; Massari, or Bassari, f. (Beet.) ; Aduhast, f. (L. Bay) ; 
Omfaas, f. (Caf.) 

Bosjemans, Coronas, Hottentots, and Saldannd Bay. — T'km, h. (Bos.) ; 
T'kokn, h. (Cor.) ; T'na, m. (Bos.) ; Kouh, m., Kauh, m., Chaib, m 
(Cor.) ; Kupp, m., K'quique, m., Zohee, m., Quoique, m., Quaina, 
m. (Hot.) ; T'aifi, f. (Bos.) ; Chaisas, f. (Cor.) ; Ankona. f. 
(Sal. B.) ; Honnes, f., Kus, f., K'quiquis, Zohees, f., Kyoiquis, f., 
Quaishha, f. (Hot.) 



WITH THOSE OF ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 91 



PARTS OF THE BODY, HAND, ARM, &c. 



North Africa. 

Egypt. — • Hand/ Gig, Shig [The Hand and Fore-Arm], Koi, Mah, Mahe. 
' Tongue/ Lash. 'Ear/ Meeje. *'Nose/ Sha. ' Foot/ Rat, 
[I, 'To go/] 'Head/ Kahi, Jo. 

Abystinia and Nubia. — 'Hand/ Tedembeton, (Nub.) 'Tongue/ Miilhassh 
(Abyss.); E'midap, (Nub.) 'Ear/ A'shinha (Abyss.) ; Ishenah, 
Wongwil, (Nub.) ' Nose/ Affinkjaha (Abyss.) ; A'ffinkjach, Ognuf, 
(Nub.) ' Foot/ Tarekkas (Abyss.) ; Regget, (Nub.) < Head/ 
Raassih (Abyss.) ; Dimmaha, O'giirma, (Nub.) 

Berbers and Dongolans. — ' Hand/ Iddegh (Ber.) ; Ihg, (Don.) ' Tongue/ 
Narka (Ber.) ; Nadka, (Don.) 'Ear/ U'kkega (Ber.) ; Uluk, (Dow.) 
' Nose/ Szurringa, (i?er. $- Don.) ' Foot/ Oentuga (Iter.) ; Ossen- 
tuge, (Don.) 

Phellatahs and Fulahs. — ' Hand/ NeVoreh (Phel.) ; Youngo, (Ful.) 
'Tongue/ Demgal (Phel.); D'heingau, (Ful.) 'Ear/ Nuppi (Phel!) 
Noppy, (Ful.) 'Nose/ Njelhinerat (Phel.); Hener, (Ful.) 'Foot/ 
Kiissengal (Phel.) ; Kavassongal, (Ful.) ' Head/ Hore (Phel.) ; 
Horde, (FwZ.) 



Negro-land. 

Zo/o/s and Sereres. — ' Hand/ Loho, Loco [properly the Arm], Lokoo 
(Iol.); Bayie, (Ser.) 'Tongue/ Laming, Lamai, Lammegue, Lamin 
(Iol.) ; Delemme, (Ser.) ' Ear/ Smanoppe, Nope, Noppe (Iol.) ; 
None, (Ser.) 'Nose/ Smak-bookan, Bacann, Boucanne, Baceane 
(Iol.); Guisse, (Ser.) 'Foot/ Simatank, Tangue (Iol.); Guiaf, 
(Ser.) ' Head/ Smababb, Boppe, Bappe, Bop (Iol.) ; Coque, (Ser.) 

• The great majority of the African words for the Nose (a class not included in 
Appendix A) have been explained in other parts of this work. 



92 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES 

Parts of the Body, Hand, Arm, fyc. 

Mandingos. — f Hand/ Bulla, Boula [Hand and Arm]. 'Tongue/ Ning. 
' Ear/ Toola. ' Nose/ Noong. « Foot/ Sing. ' Head/ Kung, 
Koon. 

Jallunkans and Sokko. — ' Hand/ Ibolee (Jal.) ; Bulla, Blu, (Sok.) 
'Foot/ Itgenge (J«Z.) ; Afo, (Sok.) 'Head/ Ikkunjee (JoJ.) ; 
Ukkung, (Sok.) 

Kanga, Mangree, and Gien. — ' Hand/ Nakoa (Kan.) ; Ikko, (Gien.) 
' Foot/ Namboo (Kan.) ; Trippi (Man.) ; Nugee, (Gien.) ' Head/ 
Nandewu (Kan.) ; Tri (Man.) ; Ungo, (6riew. 

.FVta 0/10* 6roZc? Coa^. — ' Hand/ Ensah, (Fetu.) ' Tongue/ Teckrema 
(Fetu) ; Decrame, (6r. Coast.) ' Ear/ Asschaba (Fetu) ; Asso, 
(6r. Coast.) ' Nose/ Engwinni (i^w) ; O-u-nom, (6r. Coast.) 
' Foot/ Anan, (Fetu.) ' Head/ Etyr (i^a) ; Eteri, (G. Coast.) 

Amina, Akkim, and Akripon. — ' Hand/ En-saa, Obaa (Am. fy Akkim) ; 
Obaa, (Akri.) ' Foot/ Onang (Am. fy Akkim) ; Djabi, (Akri.) 
' Head/ Utieri (Am.) ; Metih (Akkim) ; Nuntji, (Akri.) 

Akrai and Tambi. — ' Hand/ Nindeh, Dinde, Ninde (Ak.) ; Nindi, (Tarn.) 
' Arm/ Nindeh, (Ak.) ' Ear/ Toy, (^.) ' Foot/ Nanne, Nande, 
(^.) ; Nandi, (Tarn.) ' Head/ Itbu, Oitju (Ak.) ; Ii, (2W) 

Widah, Papah, and Watje. — 'Hand/ Alo (Wid.) ; Alio (Pap.); Aschi, 
(JT«*.) 'Ears/ Otto, (JFitf.) 'Nose/ Aonty, (Wid.) 'Foot/ 
Affb (JPtrf.) ; Afo, (Pap. #■ JFa*.) 'Head/ Ta, (Pap. $■ JFa£.) 

Kongo and Angolan. — ' Hand/ Moco [pi.], Kook, Coco, (Kon.) ' Foot/ 
Malu (iTcw.) ; Quirio, (An.) ' Head,' Ontu, (Kon.) 

Loango, Mandongo, and Camba. — ' Hand/ Kogo (Lo.) ; Koko, (Man. $• 
Cam.) 'Foot/ Kulu (Lo. fy Cam.) ; Kolo, (Man.) 'Head/ Tu (Lo.) ; 
Motu, (Marc. $* Cam.) 

Karabari, Ibo, and Mokko. — ' Hand/ Okuh (Kar.) ; Hukko (Ibo) ; Ono- 
nuba, (Mok.) ' Foot/ Akkah (Kar.) ; Akkau (Uo) ; Ugod, (Jfoft.) 
' Head/ Issi (Kar. fy Ibo) ; Iboil, (Mok.) 

Wawu and Tembu.— ' Hand/ Be (7F«.); Nin, (7V/w.) 'Foot/ Garni 
(Wa.); Navorre, (Tew.) 'Head/ Angora (JVa.) ; Kujuoo, {Tern.) 



WITH THOSE OP ASIA, EUROPE, AND AMERICA. 93 

Parts of the Body, Hand, Arm, fyc. 

Krepeer, Ashantees, and Kassenti. — 'Hand,' Inno, (Kas.) 'Arm/ Assij 
(Kre.) ; Osa, (Ask.) ' Ear,' Otuh (Kre.) ; Uwasso, (Ash.) 'Nose,' 
Amonthi (Kre.); Ohiiny, (Ash.) 'Foot,' Itta, (Kas.) ' Head/ 
Ota (Kre.) ; Otri (^»A.) ; Diir, (JTo».) 

Affadeh.— 1 Hand,' Blimszeh. ' Tongue/ Essienko. ' Ear/ Szemmanko. 
•Nose/ Demulzungenko. 'Foot/ E'nszih. 'Head/ Go, Ko. 

Bar Fur and Bar Runga.—< Hand/ Enkefly [Surface of the Hand], 
(B.Fur.) 'Tongue/ Dali, (B. Fur.) 'Ear/ Dila (B. Fur.) ; 
Nesso, (B. Run.) ' Nose/ Durmeh, (B. Fur.) ' Foot/ Tarinmufsaly 
(B. Fur.) ; Itar, (D. 22wrc.) ■ Head/ Tabu, (D. *W.) 

South Africa. 

Beetjuana-Caffres, Corona-Hottentots, and Madagascar. — 'Hand/ T'koam 
(Cor. -Hot, ,) ; Tang' am, (Mad.) 'Tongue,' Lolemi (Beet.-Kaf.) ; 
Leila, Leula, (Mad.) 'Ears/ Zebe (Beet.-Kaf.); Soffi, (Jlfarf.) 
' Nose/ Ongko, (Beet.-Kaf.) ; Orong, (Matf.) 

Madagascar. — 'Hand/ Tang' am, Tangan, Tangh. 'Tongue/ Leila, Leula, 
Lela, Lela. 'Ear/ Souffy, Soon. 'Nose/ Orung, Urun, Oron. 
' Foot/ Hoots, Lefack, Ungoor, Lafatungu, Tombut. ' Head/ Loha, 
Dooha, Lua. 

Koosas, Beetjuanas, LagoaBay, and Caf res. — ' Hand,' Mundha (L. Bay); 
Fansa (Caf.) ; Isanga (Koos.) ; Sseaakja, (Beet.) 'Tongue/ Mume 
(Koos.); Lolemi (Beet.) ; Loodjem, (L.Bay.) 'Ear/ Elebe (Koos.); 
Zebe (Beet.) ; Gevea, (L. Bay.) ' Nose/ Poomlu (Koos.) ; Ongko 
(Beet.); Numpho, (L. Bay.) 'Foot/ Jenjao (Koos.); Lonao (Beet.); 
Chizenda (L. Bay) ; Enjau, (Caf.) ' Head/ Klogo (Koos.) ; Kohho 
(Beet.); Liicko (L.Bay); Loko, (£«/.) 

Bosjemans, Coronas, Hottentots, and Saldanna Bay . — 'Hand,' T'aa (Bos.) ; 
T'koam (Co?-.); Onecoa (Sal. B.) ; T'unka, Omma, (Hot.) 'Tongue/ 
T'in (Bos.) ; Tamma (Cor. fy Hot.) ; Tamme, (Sal. B.) ' Ear/ 
T'no-eingtu (Bos.) ; T'naum (Cor.) ; Naho (M. B.) ; Nouw [>/.], 
(i?o£.) 'Nose/ T'nuhntu (Bo«.) ; T'geub (Cor.) ; Tui, Zakui (>SW. B.); 
T'koi, Koyb, Qui, Ture, Thuke, Quoi, (JSirf.) 'Foot/ T'ooah 
(Bos.) ; T'keib (Cor.) ; Coap (Sal. B.) ; Y, Itqua, Yi, (Hot.) 
'Head/ T'naa (Bos.); Minuong (Cor.); Biquaau, Biqua, Biqua, (Hot.) 



94 COMPARISON OF THE AFRICAN LANGUAGES, &C. 

WATER. 

North Africa. 

Egypt. — * Aquae/ Eiooue, Moou, Mau. * Seas,' Amaiou. ' Rain,' Mou- 
noshe. ' A Torrent, A Stream,' Mouns-6 r . em. ■ To irrigate, To 
drink,' Matsos. ' A Stream,' Eioor, Eron. 

Abyssinia and Nubia. — Mi (Abyss.) ; Me, Ejern, (Nub.) 

Berbers and Bongolans. — Amanga (Ber.) ; Esseg, (Bon.) 

Negro-land. 

Iolofs. — M'doch, Doc, Dock. 

Mandingos. — Ji, Gee. 

Fetu and Gold Coast. — Ensu (Fetu)± Enchion, (G. Coast.) 

Akrai. — Nuh. 

Widah. — Asioue. 

Kongo and Angola. — Masa (Kon. fy Ang.) ; Mazia, (Ang.) 

Loango. — Mazei. 

Krepeer and Ashantees. — Itchi (Kre.) ; Inssuo, (Ash.) 

Affadeh. — AmeTi. 

Mobba and Schilluck. — E'ndsch'y (Mob.) ; Mage [also Cold], (Sch.) 

Bar Fur and Bar Runga. — Koro, (B. Fur) ; Tta, (B. Run.) 

South Africa. 

Gallas . — Bischan . 

Madagascar. — Rano, Rana, Rami. 

Koosas, Beetjuanas, Lagoa Bay, and Caffres. — Ammaansi (Koos.) ; 
Meetsi (Beet.) ; Matee (Lag. B.) ; Maasi, Ammaanzu, (Caf.) 

Huswanas. — T'kae. 

Bosjemans, Coronas, Hottentots, and Saldannd Bay. — T'kohaa (Bos.) , 
T'kamma (Cor. $• Hot.) ; Kamma, Kamme, Kam (Hot.) ; Ouata, 
(Sal. Bay.) 

END OF APPENDIX B. 



APPENDIX C. 



SHOWING THAT THE 



CELTIC DIFFER ALMOST TOTALLY FROM THE 
GOTHIC LANGUAGES. 



96 ALMOST TOTAL DIFFERENCE OF THE 



REMARKS. 

In this Appendix the following propositions are proved by a comparison 
of the most Common Words : 

1. The close connexion of the various Gothic dialects and the close con- 

nexion of the various Celtic dialects. 

2. The total difference which, with a few trifling exceptions, prevails 

between the Gothic and Celtic tongues in the most Common Terms. 

3. These phenomena are proofs of the tendency of kindred dialects to 

become totally unlike. For the original identity of the Celtic and 
Gothic dialects, (notwithstanding the wide differences which they 
now present,) will be apparent from the previous Appendix (A), and 
from earlier portions of this work, in which it has been shown that 
in other languages, especially those of Asia, the corresponding 
Celtic and Gothic words — widely as they differ — are found united. 
It must also be remarked, as a feature highly deserving of attention, 
and as a proof of the completeness of the evidence which has been 
adduced in this work of the conclusions herein maintained, that 
(as regards those classes of words which have been examined, both 
in the previous and in the following pages,) the very same words 
which occur in this Appendix (C), as examples of the tendency of 
individual languages to become totally different, may for the most 
part be recognized in the previous Appendix (A), as links in the 
chain of proof therein contained of the original unity of Human 
languages viewed collectively. 

4. The following Appendix also exhibits the rapid tendency to diver- 

gence, even among dialects, which from distinct internal evidence 
may be shown to be specifically connected. 
Thus even the two branches of the Celtic — closely as they generally 
approximate in the most common terms — differ totally in the first 
class of words examined below, viz. * The Names of the Heavenly 
Bodies,' though all these various terms, as will be observed from 
the previous Appendix (A), occur in other parts of the globe, and 
may be viewed as fragments of the primitive Language of mankind. 
Again, the Scandinavian branch of the Gothic differs totally from 
the German branch in the name for the Sun, agreeing at the same 
time with the Latin. ' Sonne, Sun (Germ.), &c. ; Soel (Danish), 
&c. ;' Sol (Latin.) 



CELTIC FROM THE GOTHIC LANGUAGES. 



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98 



THE CELTIC AND GOTHIC TONGUES DIFFER 



Words for ' A Human Being,' marked h. ; 'Man, 
and 'Woman,' marked f. 



marked m. ; 



CELTIC DIALECTS. 

[In the following pages W. means 
Welsh ; Corn., Cornish ; Arm., 
Armorican ; Ir., Irish ; Manx, 
the dialect of 'Man,' (Mona ;) 
Sc. G., Scotch Gaelic] 



Class.— Dyn, h. (W.) ; 
Den, h. {Com.) ; Den, h. and m. 
(Arm.) ; Gour, m., Gour-aig, f. 
(W.) ; Gour, m., Gur-eg, f., 
Gr-ak, f. (Arm.); Gwas, m.(W.); 
Guaz,M. (Corn.); Byn,F., Benyu, 
f. (W.) ; Banen, f., Moid, f. 
(Corn.) ; Maues, f., Femellen, f. 
(Arm.) 

Gaelic Class. — Dae, h., Duine, h. 
and m., Fear, m., *Fr-ag, f., 
*Reachd, m., *Kearn, m. (Ir.) ; 
Dune, m., Fer, m. (Sc. G.) ; 
Dyny, m. (Manx) ; *Be, f., 
Bean, f. (Ir.) ; Ben, f. (Sc. G.) ; 
Ban, f. (Manx); *Geann, f., 
*Koinne, f., *Koinnt, f., *Kom- 
main, f., Aindear, f. (Ir.) 



GOTHIC DIALECTS. 

[In the following pages, Ger. signi- 
fies German ; A. Sax., Anglo- 
Saxon; Eng., English; Belg., 
Belgian ; Goth., Gothic ; Swed., 
Swedish ; IceL, Icelandic] 

German Class. — Mensch, h. (Ger.); 
Man, m. (Ger., Belg., and Eng.) ; 
Weib, f., Frou, f. (Ger.) ; Wif. 
f. (A. Sax.) ; Uino, f., Uens, f. 
(Goth.) ; Woman, f., Wench, f. 
(Eng.) 



Scandinavian Class. — Man, m. 
(Swed.) ; Mand, m. (Ban.) ; 
Madur, m. (Icel.) ; Quinna, f., 
Hustra, f. (Siced.) ; Quinde, f. 
(Dan.) ; Vif, f., Konna, f., 
Quinna, f., Mcer, f., Droos, f., 
Ficera, f., Snoot, f., Sprund, f. 
(Icel.) 



Unlike as the Celtic and Gothic words of this class for the most part 
are, there are still remaining many traces of original identity : Quinna, f. 
(Swed.) ; Konna, f. (Icel.) ; are clearly allied to Koinne, f., Geann, f.« 
(Ir.) Again, the origin of Fr-ou (Ger.) and Fi-cer-a (Icel.) may be satis- 
factorily explained if these words are viewed as Feminines derived from 
Fear, m. (Ir.), Ferfiu, m. (Hungarian), Vir (Latin). The application of 
this remark will be more fully understood by referring to the observations 
in Appendix A, p. 50, on the origin of terms of this Class, 'Words for 
Human Being, Man, Woman,' &c 

It will be observed that the Scandinavian presents many peculiar words 
which are not extant in the other Gothic dialects. Most of these may be 
clearly identified either with the Celtic, as in the former, or with the 
Oriental languages, as in the following examples : Hustra, f. (Swed. ) 
may be regarded as identical with ' Stri,' f. (Sa)iscrit), and Stree, f. 
(Zend.) Again, Mcer, f. (Icel.) may be viewed as a feminine connected 
with Martja, m. (Sa?iscrit), Merete, m. (Zend.), Mas, Mar-is (Lati/i). 



ALMOST TOTALLY IN THE MOST COMMON WORDS. 



99 



NAMES OF THE PRINCIPAL PARTS OF THE HUMAN FRAME. 



CELTIC DIALECTS. 



GOTHIC DIALECTS. 



1. 'The Head.' (Caput, Latin.') 

Cymraeg Class. — Pen or Ben [Tal- German Class. — Kopf, Haupt 

cen, a Forehead] [W.)>, Pedn, (Ger.); Hooft, Cop, Head (Belg.); 

*Pen {Cor.) ; Pen (Arm.) H.e&fod(A.Sax.); Rzuhid (Goth.); 

Head, (Eng.) 

Gaelic Class. — [Ben, A Hill,] Scandinav. Class. — Hufwud (Sw.); 

Keann, *Koll, Kutli (Jr.); Tchynn, Hoffuit (Dan.) ; Hoffud, (Icel.) 
(Manx.) 



2. 'The Arm,' (Brachium, Latin.) 



Cymraeg Class. — Braich (TV.) ; 
Brech (Arm.) ; *Brech, Breh, 
(Cor.) 

Gaelic Class. — [Brak, A Hand], 
Raigh (Ir.) ; Ri, (Manx.) 



German Class. — Arras (Goth.) ; 
Earm (A. Sax.) ; Arm, (Ger., 
Belg. fy Eng.) 

Scandinavian Class. — Arm, (Swed.); 
Armene (Dan.) ; Armur, Hand- 
leggur, Armleggur, (Icel.) 



3. 'The Hand,' (Manus, Latin.) 

Cymraeg Class. — Llaw, *Adav, German Class. — Handus (Goth.); 
*Nedkair, Angod, Palv, Pauen Hand (Ger., Belg., fy Eng.); 

(TV.); Law, Lov, (Cor.) Paw, (Eng.) 

Gaelic Class. — Lav [spelt Lamh], Scandinav. Class. — Hand (Swed.) ; 
*Lais (Ir.) ; Law, (Manx.) Haand (Dan.); Hond, Ramf 

(Icel.) [from Ram-en, To seize] ; 
Hreifa (Old Scand.) [from Hrifa, 
To seize.] 



f Rama, ' The Arm,'— Sclavonian. 



100 



THE CELTIC AND GOTHIC TONGUES DIFFER 



Names of the principal Parts of the Human Frame. 



CELTIC DIALECTS, 



GOTHIC DIALECTS. 



4. ' The Fist.' (Pugnus, Latin.) 

Cymraeg Class. — Dwrn(JF.); Dwrn German Class. — Faust (Ger.); Fist, 
[The Hand], (Cor. $> Ar.) (Eng.) 

Gaelic Class. — Dwrn [The Palm of Scandinavian Class. 
the Hand], (Jr.) 



5. 'The Leg.' (Cms, Latin.) 
Cymraeg Class. — Coes, {Welsh.) German Class. — Bein, (Ger.) 



Gaelic Class. — Cos, (L'ish.) 



Scandinav. Class. — Lagg (Sived.); 
Laeg (Dan.) ; Fot-leggur, Bein, 
(Icel.) 



6. 'The Eye. (Oculus, Latin.) 

Cymraeg Class. — Llygad, *Treni, German Class. — Augo (Goth.); 

Edrych [To look] (Welsh); La- Eage (A. Sax.); Auge (Ger.); 

gaz, *Lagad (Cor.) ; Lagat, (Ar.) Ooge, (Belg.) 

Gaelic Class. — Siul, *Kais, Rosg, Scandinavian Class. — Oga (Swed.); 

*Deark, (Irish.) Swil, (Manx.) Oye (Dan.); Auge, (Icel.) 



7. 'The Ear.' (Amis, Latin.) 

Cymraeg Class. — Klyst, Ysgyvarn German Class. — Auso (Goth.) ; 

(W.); Skevarn, *Skovarn( Cor.): Eare (A. Sax.); Ohr (Ger.); 

Skuarn, (Ar.) Oore, (Belg.) 

Gaelic Class. — Kluas, *0, * Snout Scandinavian Class.— Ora. (Swed.); 

(Ir.); Klyss, (Manx.) Ore (Dan.); Evra, (Icel.) 



ALMOST TOTALLY IN THE MOST COMMON WORDS. 101 

Names of the principal Parts of the Human Frame. 
CELTIC DIALECTS. GOTHIC DIALECTS. 



8. 'The Tongue.' (Lingua, Latin.) 

Cymraeg Class. — Tavod [Lleyn, the German Class. — Tuggo (Goth.); 

name of a promontory in Carnar- Zung [pronounced Tsung] (Ger.); 

vonshire, apparently from ' Lin- Tungen (Sax.) ; Tonge, (Belg.) 
gua/ Latin], (W.) ; Tavaz, *Ta- 
vod (Cor.) ; Teaut, (Ar.) 

Gaelic Class. — Teanga, *Ting (Ir.); Scandinav. Class. — Tunga (Swed.) ; 

Tehama (Manx); Teanka, Teyngi, Tunge (Dan.) ; Tunga, (Icel.) 
(H. Sc.) 



9. ' The Nose/ (Nasus, Latin.) 

Cymraeg Class. — Trouyn ( W.) ; German Class. — Neosu, Nose, Nsese 

Frigau (Cor.); Yx\(Ar.); *Trein (A. Sax.); Nase (Ger.); Nuese, 

(Cor.) (Belg.) 

Gaelic Class. — Sron, An Tron(2r.); Scandinavian Class. — Naesa, Nose 

Stroan, (Manx.) (Swed.) ; Naesa, Nose (Dan.) ; 

Nebbe, Nos, (Icel.) 



10. 'The Breast/ (Pectus, Latin.) 

Cymraeg Class. — Bron [Dwyvron, German Class. — Brusts (Goth.); 
the two Breasts] (W.) ; Peytrin, Brust (Ger.) ; Borste, (Belg.) 

Krybuil (Arm.) ; * Klyd-duy- 
vron,f (Cor.) 

Gaelic Class.— *Bronn, Brainn [The Scandinav. Class.— Brost (Swed.); 
Belly], *Kliathan, Longa bronn, Bryst (Dan.) ; Briost, (Icel.) 

Kliav [means also the Trunk, also 
the Trunk of the Belly], (Ir.) 



t Dr. Paghe says this word exists in Welsh, and means the breast-bone. Clwyd 
means any flat body. 



102 THE CELTIC AND GOTHIC TONGUES DIFFER 

Names of the principal Parts of the Human Frame. 
CELTIC DIALECTS. GOTHIC DIALECTS. 



11. 'The Foot.' (Pes, Latin.) 

Cymraeg Class. — Troed (JV.); Truz, German Class. — Fot-us ( Goth.) ; 

* Truyd (Cor) ; Troat, Pau, Fot, Vot (A. Sax.) ; Voet (Belg. 

{Arm.) fy Sax.) ; Fuss, (Ger.) 

Gaelic Class. — Troidh, *Treathan, Scandinavian Class. — Foot (Swed.); 

*Kos, Rinn, *Lua, *Lat, Lorga, Foede (Ban.); Fotur, (Icel.) 
(Ir.) 



12. 'The Mouth.' (Os, Latin.) 

Cymraeg Class. — Gense, Savan ( W. ); German Class. — Mimths ( Goth . ) ; 

Ganan, *Gene (Cor.) ; Genu, Muth (A. Sax.) ; Mund, Mai, 

(Ar.) Gosch (Ger.) ; Mul, {Swiss.) 

Gaelic Class. — Bel, * Bil, * Kel, Scandinav. Class. — Munn (Siced.) ; 

*Men, *Gion (Ir.); Beyl (H.Sc); Mund (Dan.) ; Munnur, (Icel.) ; 
Buel (Manx.) 



13. 'The Back.' (Dorsum, Latin.) 

Cymraeg Class. — Kevn, Trym or German Class. — Bsec, Hrioge (A. 

Drym(W.) ; Kein, Druim, Muin, Sax.); Rucken (Ger.) ; Rugge, 

(Cor. fy Ar.) (Belg.) 

Gaelic Class. — Druim, Muin (Ir.) ; Scandinav. Class. — Rygg (Swed.); 

Drym (Manx) ; Drim, (Scotch.) Rig (Dan.); Hriggur, Back, 

(Icel.) 



ALMOST TOTALLY TN THE MOST COMMON WORDS. 



103 



WORDS FOR < WATER.' 



CELTIC DIALECTS. 

Cymraeg Class. — Dur, Duvr (W.)\ 
"Dour, {Cor. $• Ar.) 



Gaelic Class. — * Oixe, * Eask, 
*Eask-ong, Uisge, *Byal, *Bea- 
thra, *Bir, *Dovar, *An, *Ean, 
*Fual, *Gil, *Lo {Ir.) ; Uishg 
(Sc. G.) ; Wystee, (Manx.) 



GOTHIC DIALECTS. 

German Class. — Wasser (Germ.); 
Waiter (Befy.); Water (Eng.); 
Wate ( Goth.) ; Ea, Eia, (A . Sax. ) 

Scandinav. Class. — Watn (Swed.); 
Vand (Dan.) ; Aa, (Icel.) 



END OF APPENDIX C. 



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